When Life Gives You Iron
by StarkFromAsgard
Summary: Lily Summers was your typical genius living in Northern USA, until the day a car accident took the life of her mother. Her world soon begins to spin out of control. What happens when she finds out that Tony Stark is her father?
1. Chapter 1

I never knew my father, not that it really mattered much. It was just my mom and I. That is how it had always been, and that's how all it always would be, or so I thought. There is always something in life that screws up every expectation that you have. Mine was the car accident that killed my mother.

After all these years, I can still remember that day. It was late October and the leaves were just beginning to fall of the trees in our small North Dakota town. I was late for school again and my mom agreed to drive me. I threw everything that I would need in my backpack and headed out the doors with my mom on my heals.

"You are going to be late" She told me in a stressed voice. She was generally quite carefree, but when she got angry, you better have watched out.

"I know!" I replied, annoyed. She had a horrible habit of stating the obvious.

We jumped into the cars and headed out towards the school. I turned on my iPod and blasted the music so that I couldn't hear the speech that she was most likely attempting to give me. Soon, we pulled up to the big brick building that I had grown to hate. It was the most ugly thing that I have ever seen. It was just a huge block with a bunch of windows. It was so depressing. It also didn't help that I only had one friend. I was in my senior year, taking all advanced courses and only 16. Almost everyone hated me because of it, except for Emma. She was the only reason that I didn't just graduate already and head out to University. She accepted me for who I was. We did everything together. I gazed towards the doors of my school to see her leaning against one of the railings waving at me.

"Got to go Mom, Emma's waiting for me!" I said as I opened the door of the SUV.

"Bye, honey. Have fun!" She answered before driving off.

Those were the last words that my mom had ever spoken to me.

My day went pretty normal. I had an advanced class that I daydreamed through, another advanced class that I doodled through and finally another advanced class that I napped through. If I didn't have 100% in every one of them, my teachers would have most likely have said something. They don't, because I am Lily Summers, the most brilliant student to ever walk these halls. Not to brag or anything, but I think that I could teach my teachers better than they could ever teach me. Even though I was bored out of my mind, I sat through every class and never skipped a single day.

Finally, lunch arrived. I fought my way through the lunch line and bought a sandwich to eat. All the other food here was way to greasy to even attempt to digest. By the time I made it to my table, Emma was already there.

"What up?" She asked, pushing her curly brown hair behind her ears. She hated the way it always landed in her face. I wished that my hair was that curly. Nope, it was as straight as a ruler and a sort of dirty blondish colour that I inherited from my mom.

"Not much," I replied, unwrapping my food, "Mr. Marshal was more boring than usual. I took a nap"

We then continued on with our relatively boring table talk. It was just like every other day until a voice came over the intercom.

"Lily Summers, please report to the office, Lily Summers."

Emma looked at me, her face as confused as mine.

"Why were you called to the office?"

"I don't know," I answered, "Maybe it's something to do with sleeping through my classes. Want to come with me?"

"Sure, why not?"

We through the rest of our food into the garbage and headed out towards the office.

We were not the only ones there when we arrived. There were a couple of police officers as well as a young woman in a very professional clothes. The principal, Mr. Kindam, was also standing there, looking quite nervous, although he was the one who greeted us.

"Miss Summers and Miss Johnson, welcome," His voice was very different from the last time we had spoken. It seemed almost... weak.

"Hello, Mr. Kindam." Emma and I replied in unison.

One of the very buff (and quite good looking) police officers stepped forward.

"Miss Summers, may please have a work in private?"

That is when I started to get scared. I have never spoken to a police officer in my life, let alone all by myself. Until then, I just assumed they were not there to see me. I thought it was for some drug arrest or something. I could see the same thoughts pass though Emma's eyes.

"Umm... Okay." I said, trying to hide the fear in my voice.

"Follow me."

The police officer began to walk towards Mr. Kindman's office. I turned towards Emma, who managed an encouraging smile.

The officer than opened the door and sat down in the huge spinning chair behind the desk. He then proceeded to motion for me to take a seat in one of the chair opposite to it.

"Miss Summers, I am Officer Frank Rickdale. I am very sorry to inform you that there was car accident on main street this afternoon involving an SUV and a pickup truck. No one survived."


	2. Chapter 2

_"Miss Summers, I am Officer Frank Rickdale. I am very sorry to inform you that there was car accident on Main Street this afternoon involving an SUV and a pickup truck. No one survived."_

I froze. My entire body went into shock. I could see his mouth moving, but the words just were not processing. My life had ended in that moment. Not only had my mother died, but a huge part of me passed away as well. I felt so... empty. There are no other words to describe it. Soon, my brain caught up with the time.

"So, what happens now?" I whispered. I tried my hardest to not cry. Weak people cry. I was not weak, at least not in the eyes of the public. I have always considered crying something that you only do alone, or with people very close to you. For me, that was Emma.

"Well, for the time being, you will be living with the Johnson family. We hope that you will be able to move in with your father in the near future."

"Wait... My father?" After all of these years, my father gets thrown into this. I wasn't even sure he existed. My mom never spoke of him and she changed the subject as soon as I brought it up. She never let me see my birth certificate, not even when I got my driver's license. He was just a ghost to me, not a real person.

"Yes, your father. Miss Gruiller is here from Children and Family Services. She will help you." With that, he stood up and walked towards the door. "She will come and see you in a minute."

Now I was in even more pain than ever. My mother is dead and now I have to go live with my father who I never met in my life, who didn't even care enough to try and meet me. How can this be real? It was then that I couldn't stand it anymore. I started to cry. I cried for my mother, for losing a part of myself as well as loosing the world which I was known my whole life. It was not fair. What did I ever do to deserve this pain? I was always the good kid. Why did this happen to me?

"Hello, Miss Summers," A voice said from behind me, making me jump. "I am Mary Gruiller and I am here from Children and Family Services. I am going to help you get through this, okay?" She took a seat in the principal's chair.

"What happens now?" I asked, wiping the dreaded tears of my face. I must not show weakness.

"We have information on your father and we will contact him as soon as possible. Your father, Lily, is -"

"Don't tell me," I interrupted. "Don't tell me his name. Contact him first. If he doesn't want me, than I will not have to live with knowing who he is. If he does want me and is willing to take me in, than you can tell me his name."

"Okay. We will contact him as soon as possible. As for your mother's will, I was told to inform you that she left everything to you. What would you like to do with the house? It is not entirely paid off, so you would have to continue to pay the mortgage if you chose to keep it."

"Sell it." I said simply. "I am not nostalgic. I have to move on."

"Okay, than. Miss Johnson is waiting to speak with you. Should I let her in?"

"Yes, please."

Miss Gruiller left, leaving the door open for Emma, who ran in and wrapped her arms around me.

"I'm so sorry," She cried, "How could this have happened? It's not fair?"

"I don't know." I said, allowing more tears to flow from my eyes.

"It's going to be okay," She whispered, "It's going to be okay."

The few weeks were sort of a blur. I don't remember much. I moved into the spare room at the Johnson's house and they helped me in whichever way they could, but it still did not fill the huge emptiness within me. The funeral was awful. Emma sat beside me the whole time as I bawled my eyes out. I didn't stop, not even for the burial or for the reception afterwards. I cried myself to sleep that night. I also stopped going to school. I had technically graduated already, so there was no real point. I didn't want to face the other students or my teachers. I just sat at home and watched the world go on without me.

That was exactly what I was doing the day that I answered the phone call that would change my life even more than it had already. I sat up on the couch and look around the room for the cordless phone. Once I found it, I placed it to my ear.

"Hello?" I said groggily. Even though it was 1:00, I had just gotten up.

"Miss Summers? Hi, it is Mary Gruiller for Children and Family Services."

"Oh, hi." I said simply. In all honesty, I was scared. These last few weeks had been littered with fear about my father. I was scared of living knowing that he didn't want me, but also just as terrified of what it would mean for me if he did. I was one to evaluate every situation, and all this free time gave me way too many opportunities to do so.

"I have great news. Your father wants to meet you." I froze. I was actually going to meet my father?

"Umm... Okay... Is he t-t-taking me to l-l-live with him too?" I stuttered.

"He said that you will have to discuss it with him, but he is more than willing to take you if it is what you want."

"Umm...Okay." What do I want?

"Would you like to know who your father is?"

This was it. This was the moment that I had been waiting for my whole life. I was about to find out the name of the man who created me, and then proceeded to abandon me.

"Sure." I croaked.

"Lily, your father is Tony Stark."


	3. Chapter 3

A.N. I originally was going to make this entire story from Lily's point of view, but I would have never had been able to capture Tony's character that way. So, from now on, I will be switching points of views, but only from chapter to chapter. I hope you like it!

_Tony's P.O.V._

Did I ever mention how much I hate Mondays? Pepper drags me to work at ridiculous hours in the morning and actually expects me to be able to function properly. That is not cool. 9 am is far too early to run a company. I actually kind of missed that week that Pepper was CEO, except for the whole dying from Palladium poisoning part. That wasn't to fun. Anyways, it was just another Monday morning when Pepper burst into my office, cranking down my music.

"How many times do I have to ask you not to do that?" I whined. It wasn't even that loud.

"Tony, I have a lady named Miss Gruiller on the phone and she would like to speak to you." Pepper looked very worried. It must be important if the call was actually going through to me. Most calls get redirected to who knows where, or, if important enough, to Pepper.

"Give me the phone."

She passed the phone to me and left the room.

"Hello, Tony Stark speaking."

"Hello, Mr. Stark. I am Mary Gruiller from Children and Family Services in Bismarck, North Dakota. I have to speak to you about your daughter."

"What? I-I don't have a daughter!" Fear sprung through me, which was quite an odd feeling. I don't get scared too often.

"I am here to inform you that you do. Her name is Lily Summers."

I ran "Summers" through the files in my brain that held the names of everyone that I slept with, or at least everyone who I remembered sleeping with. That file is quite large and I don't remember half because either I didn't care or I was too drunk to care. How is possible that I have a daughter? I am quite careful about these things. I can't have a daughter. It has to be some sort of joke. Maybe it was just someone trying to get some of my money through child support.

"Look, I don't have a daughter. If you think that you are going to get child support money from me that easily, than you are wrong. I have the best lawyers in the world on hand and you will lose."

"Mr. Stark, this is a little more serious than child support money. She is 16 years old. Her mother, Jackie Summers, died in a car crash last Wednesday. We are now asking if you would like custody of her. Her birth certificate states you as the father, but we can do additional tests if you would like."

I rubbed my forehead. What was I ever going to do if this was true? I couldn't just take in a child! How can I care for a kid when I am running a multi-billion dollar company as well as saving the world during my time off? I don't have time to care for myself, let alone a child. Even with Pepper and I in a steady relationship, there is no way that it could work.

"Run the tests. I need to be completely certain before I can make a decision."

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Stark." With that, she hung up.

I put the phone down on my desk and slammed my head into it.

"PEPPER!" I yelled.

Pepper opened the door and pulled up a chair across from my desk.

"Tony, what if she is your daughter? What are you going to do?"

"I don't - Wait. How did you know that?"

"I talked to her beforehand. I wanted to see if it was serious enough to bother you with." She replied guiltily.

"Thanks. Honestly, Pepper, I have no idea." I dug through my desk in an attempt to find some Advil. I was starting to develop a really serious head ache.

"Tony, I think you should take her, if she is yours."

"What if I can't care for her, Pepper? I am just so busy. I don't want to give her the life that I had. My dad never gave a care about me. He worked all the time. I got shipped off to different boarding schools all across the country. I can't do that to her."

Tears started to roll down my cheeks. I was terrified, as well as quite conflicted. I wanted her, but I knew it would be better for her if we didn't even meet. Pepper stood up and walked towards me and she wrapped her arms around me from behind, pressing her head against my shoulder.

"Listen to me, Tony. You are not your father. People mean something to you, even if you pretend that they don't. You should at least meet her. Discuss you life with her and see if she is ready for this. I can't imagine what she is going through. Tony, what if you never knew your father and suddenly you were alone in the world and he didn't want you. It would feel pretty bad. You can do this, Tony. We can hire extra help if we need to. We will make this work."

"Okay." I really didn't have much else to say. Even with my genius mind, it was quite a bit to process. Pepper turned my chair around and sat on my lap. She wiped the tears off of my cheek and kissed it.

"It's going to be okay, Tony. We can handle it together."

I really hoped that she was right.


	4. Chapter 4

_Lily's P.O.V._

"Your dad is _Tony Stark!_"

Emma and I sat cross-legged on the floor in her bed room that evening devouring a bag of Doritos. She was the only one that I could trust with the news.

"Just don't tell your parents, alright? I want to see what happens first."

"Okay, but Lily, your dad is Tony Stark! You have Iron Man as your father!" Lily almost screamed the words with so much excitement.

"_Quiet!"_ I hissed. "Listen, I know that it sounds awesome, but this isn't just imagination. This is reality!"

"Exactly!" Emma said standing up. "Imagine your life, Lily! Malibu beach parties, endless money, celebrities!"

Emma dug through several drawers of her messy desk before pulling out the latest issue of her favourite magazine. There he was. My father's face was plastered across the cover.

"What if I don't want that, Emma? He abandoned me, remember? Also, money isn't everything."

"No, but it is something. Look at this!"

Emma pushed a page in front of me which just so happened to be a feature article of my father's home. My father. I still can't get used to saying those two words together, especially when it referred to a billionaire like Tony Stark.

"Look at the architecture, Lily! The house is right on a cliff! Also, look at the pool! Isn't it gorgeous! Oh! There is a huge glass fountain inside. It says here that it was rumored to have been shattered at one of his -"

"EMMA!" I snapped, "I don't care! Can't you see what is happening! I might be moving to Malibu to live with _Tony Stark_, who is my _father_! Why can't you see all the problems with that? I am not cut out for living the celebrity life! I just want to stay here! I want a normal life! That is all I ever wanted, but now all of that is getting tossed out the window."

Emma sat back down, looking a little hurt. I kind of felt bad, but I really needed to release all of the confused feelings that have been going through my mind like a racetrack. It was every girls dream to be whisked off to live in a beach house with billions of dollars to spend, but I never thought that it would ever come true, especially to someone like me. I should really be more careful what I wish for.

"Lily, I'm sorry. I was just really excited for you. I know that you may not think that it is all that great, but think of the good things. At least your dad isn't a video game addict who lives in his parent's basement!"

"No, he is just a superhero who goes on potentially deadly missions every weekend!"

"Lily! Listen to yourself! Your dad is a superhero! That is the most fantastic sentence that I have ever said! My best friend's dad is Iron Man! That is something to brag about!"

"Maybe it is a little. How many people can say that there dad saved the world from aliens?"

"Or from a Hammeroid attack at the Stark Expo?"

"Or from a guy with electric whips on a race track in Monaco?"

"Face it, Lily. Your dad is awesome!"

"Okay, sure. He is a superhero billionaire, but what is he like as a person?"

"Cocky, self-centered, narcissistic and a little bit of a daredevil."

"Exactly."

Emma frowned.

"I see what you are getting at. He will not be a bad father! He cares about legacy, Lily. Look at his Stark Expo speech. You are his legacy. You will be what he leaves behind. I bet that he will love you so much and will spoil you crazy and will raise you to be as accomplished as he is. His parenting abilities are the least of my worries. Now, let's go to bed. You have a big day tomorrow, and I am exhausted! Good night!"

"Night, Emma."

I crept across the house to my downstairs bed room. I didn't want to wake up Emma's parents. They wouldn't be too happy seeing that it was 1 in the morning.

I reached my room without a hitch and climbed into the warm bed. I could not sleep, however. There were too many things on my mind. Would my father treat me like how Emma thinks, or will he be distant and cold? Would he care for me, or would be push me away to one of his assistants. Also, what would it be like to have someone as famous as Iron Man for their father?

I don't remember falling asleep, but my alarm woke me up at 9 am. I was exhausted. I couldn't remember why I was up that early anyways, and then it hit me like a hammer. Today was the day that I was going to me my father, the great Tony Stark. I rolled out of bed and hopped into the shower in a desperate attempt to drown out my thoughts in the warm water. It didn't work too well. 20 minutes later, I was back in my room, facing an even bigger dilemma. What on earth was I going to wear? I dug through drawer and drawer of clothes, but nothing seemed to be appropriate to meet one of the richest men alive. They all seemed to... average. I had really nothing that stood out. In the end, I decided to keep it simple and be me. That was who he was going to be a father too anyways. I threw on a nice pair of jeans and t-shirt and headed up stairs.

Even though it was only 2 hours to Bismarck, it seemed as though it was the longest ride of my life. Lily tried to keep me occupied with small talk, but it wasn't working. I was really freaking out now. I couldn't believe that I was actually going to meet my father. I was so unreal. It was like I was living one of my 9 year old self's dream.

Finally, the car pulled up to the headquarters of North Dakota's Children and Family Services office. We got out of the vehicle and went inside, Emma practically pulling me along. I felt as though I was detached from my body. Nothing felt real. I was that scared. After waiting in a room for a few minutes that felt like hundreds, we were led to a room at the end of a hall.

"Miss Summers," The young receptionist said, "Your father is right though this door."

I pushed all of the fear out of my mind and turned the handle.

A.N. That was fun! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it! Leave a comment bellow! I would love to hear what you think. Also, should I do the first meeting from Tony's P.O.V., Lily's P.O.V., or make one chapter for each? I can't decide! I have ideas for all!


	5. Chapter 5

_Lily's P.O.V._

The room was quite small and very plain. Everything was beige and neutral, right from the tiles to the twin couches facing each other along the side walls. On the couch to the right, there he sat. My father. He was dressed in just a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, not unlike myself, but he was wearing a very expensive looking leather jacket over it. To his right, sat a woman who I recognised immediately to be Pepper Potts, Tony, or I guess my father's, long time assistant and recently acquired girlfriend. She was dressed much more professional than my father, wearing a blazer and pencil skirt ensemble with her hair in a neat bun. Everything about those two screamed rich, spoiled brat and his babysitter. I had to stop thinking like that. They may be my future parents.

My father looked up at me nervously as I stepped further into the room. He didn't take his eyes off of me even as I sat on the couch opposite to the pair. Pepper was the first to speak.

"Hello, Lily. I'm Pepper Potts, and this your father, Tony Stark."

Pepper nudged my father really hard in the side.

"Hi." He mumbled.

"Hello." I replied, with equal enthusiasm.

This was getting more and more awkward by the minute. I was obviously not the only one who felt it, because at that moment, Pepper stood up.

"Well, I will leave you to it."

My dad gave Pepper a pleading look before she turned and walked towards the door.

"You should have a lot to talk about."

The door closed with a click and it was back to the silence.

"So..." I said uncertainly. I couldn't stand him looking at me like I was some sort of alien. Then again, I may have been staring at him the same way.

"Okay, Lily. I will start with this." My father rubbed his forehead with his hand although he was dying of a head ache. "I am sorry. I am sorry that I was not there for you growing up. I am sorry that I was not there to support you and to raise you. I understand if you really hate me for it, but I had no idea that you were even born, so I couldn't have even done any of those things. I really wish that I had been able to. I feel awful know seeing you, a part of me, in front of me and not knowing anything about you. I hate it."

This stunned me. Whatever I expected him to say, it was not that.

"You didn't know I was born?"

"No, I didn't. I know that you most likely figured this out, but you were the product of a one-night stand. As for why your mother didn't approach me, I have no idea. I wish that she had."

This was all so much to take. I spent my whole life hating the man that abandoned me. Now, he is sitting in front of me looking so vulnerable and telling me that he never knew that I existed.

"It's okay," I heard myself say. I had no idea where that was coming from. "I understand. We now have to opportunity to fix that."

Did I just say that out loud? Did I just admit to my father, and to myself that I really wanted to be with him and to have a real family again? My voice can really surprise me sometimes.

"Do you really want that, Lily?" He asked. He stopped rubbing his forehead and stared into my eyes, which I then noticed where the exact same brown as mine. "You do know what that means, right? You will have to move to Malibu, and live in Stark Manor. I also work a lot and I have other, uh, commitments as well. I also have to travel quite a bit and you will most likely be homeschooled and -"

"Dad, I understand." Okay, I had just called him dad. He must really be growing on me. "I want us to be a family."

"I just want to make sure that you are okay with my lifestyle. I don't want to be the terrible father to you that mine was to me."

"I'm sure that you won't be. I want to try it, Dad. If it doesn't work, then so be it, but I want to give it a shot."

My dad smiled.

"Done deal, then?"

"I guess so." I said, with the same grin on my face. Even though it is still awkward, I was actually kind of excited to meet my dad. He was the only family that I had left and I wasn't ready to be alone.

"When do you want to move in?"

"Whenever."

"Next week? I can have your room ready my then. Here is my phone number, Pepper's phone number, my email and Pepper's email. Send us what you want in there and we will make it happen."

"Uh, Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"What exactly is happening with you and Pepper?"

"We are in a stable relationship."

"So, she is going to kind of be my mother figure."

"I guess so. Do you want to meet her?"

"Um... Okay."

"PEPPER!"

Pepper opened the door and walked in and sat beside my dad.

"So?" She asked.

"Meet my daughter and our new housemate!"

"Hi!" She smiled, "I am very excited to get to know you, Lily, beyond that very, uh, nice meeting earlier."

"Me too." I answered. Pepper didn't seem all that bad either. Maybe these celebrities aren't all that they are made out to be.

"Well," My dad said, looking down at a very expensive watch, "Pepper, I have to be in New York by six, so we better get going."

"You are right." Pepper said, standing up, dragging my dad with her. I stood up as well.

'Lily," My dad walked towards me and stopped about a foot away. "Call me. Make sure that you call before Wednesday so that we can make arrangements to get you to Malibu. I also want to get to know you a little before you are suddenly thrown into my life and I can imagine that the same is for you. Okay, then. Let's hit the road, Pepper!"

Just as he was about to turn away, I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him into a hug.

"Thank you" I said into his chest. I could almost feel the pulsing from his arc reactor under his shirt. He seemed quite surprised by that move, as I was myself, but he slowly relaxed and wrapped his arms around me.

"No, Lily. Thank you."


	6. Chapter 6

_Tony`s P.O.V._

The car ride to the airport was quiet. I was too lost in my own thoughts to even acknowledge the world. It was just so much to absorb. Just when I thought I had finally come to terms with the fact that I had a daughter, everything got thrown out the window. She is so... perfect. As soon as she walked in the room, I couldn`t stop staring at her. She had perfect blond hair that framed her face and eyes that were identical to mine in too many ways. Not only did they where they the same colour, but they had the same sadness and loneliness that had plagued mine since the day that my parents died. It was the mark of someone who had dealt with things that were almost too much to bare. When she sat down and gazed at me with a look longing for approval, I melted. Lily was mine and I was going to make sure that she had the life that I never had. I didn`t want her to feel the pain that clouded her eyes anymore. I knew what that felt like and I attempted to drown it out with alcohol, but it was always still there the next morning. I needed to relieve her of the pain. It was my duty as her father.

"Tony?" Pepper asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah?" I turned away from the window and faced her.

"That went well, right?" Pepper grabbed my hand in a comforting way.

"I think so. I hope that this works out, Pepper. I have never wanted something this much in my whole life."

"Then we will make it work."

"What are we going to do about the press? We can't keep this in the dark forever! It wouldn't be fair for her to be stuck in the house all day."

"We should do a press conference after she settles in. I don't want to make her deal with the press right off the bat."

"I agree, but Pepper, what if the press scares her? They scare me and I dealt with them my whole life!"

"She is strong, just like you. She will get used to it."

"I'm not strong, Pepper. Brave, sure. Genius, most definitely, but strong? Not that great of an adjective."

"Tony, you were dying and you fought it alone. That takes strength. You are taking home your 16 year old daughter who you only met for about 10 minutes because your schedule is so insane. You are strong."

I let those words sink in. Nobody had ever called me strong before. I was always just that narcissistic billionaire playboy who spent all their time drinking and creating weapons. Not really the type of person that you would call strong. It basically screams weakness.

"Right." I was not quite ready to accept that assessment of my character. "Um... When are we getting to the airport? We have been driving for forever."

"Don't change the subject Tony." Pepper said sternly. "Which room is going to be Lily's?"

"The guest room on the second floor that faces the ocean."

"Okay. Do we need anything for it?" Pepper pulled out her Stark Phone, ready to take notes.

"Did it look like I got a chance to talk to her about her bedroom? We had, what, 5 seconds to talk where you couldn't cut the tension with a knife. I have no idea what a 16 year old girl needs. You are the girl!"

"Fine, I will do it. I just thought you might want some say."

"Well, I don't."

The truth was that I did want a say. I wanted to create a room that anyone would want at 16; surround sound, soundproofing, flat screens and, of course, a holograph capable floor. I wasn't going to tell Pepper that, though. I was going to do it myself, without her knowledge.

"We are arriving at the airport in 5 minutes." Happy called from the front. I had almost forgotten that he had been there listening this whole time.

"Thanks." Pepper answered.

I turned back to the window, imagining the room that I was going to design tonight for my little girl. I'm calling her that already? It's incredible how much change one person can bring to your life. I had nothing, and now I had everything. My life was so good. I had a girlfriend, a daughter and a way for me to help the world. A smiled appeared on my lips. It was nice to genuinely smile every once and a while.

"What are you smiling about?" Pepper asked.

"Did I ever tell you just how much I love you?"

"Every day, but it wouldn't hurt to say it again."

"I love you so much, Pepper, and I am so excited to start this new chapter of my life with you at my side."

Pepper smiled.

"Me too, Tony."

"Well, since you love me so much, could do a tiny little favour for me? Please?"

"What, Tony? You know, I really thought that we were having a moment."

"Funny how they always get interrupted, hey?"

"That time it was your fault. What do you want from me?"

"I want a month long holiday starting the day that Lily arrives."

"Tony! That's not possible. You are CEO! You can't take a month off! We have so much to do! We have to supervise the building of the arc reactors for the new towers, one of which is going to be mine." I groaned. "Don't you start. At least put my name on the tower then. This is not a good time."

"Pepper, my daughter who I had never met before is moving in. I think I deserve some time off. It is not nice to abandon her for work like that."

"Two weeks. That is it, Tony. I will cover for you."

"You won't last. You only made it one week last time."

"Watch it, Tony. I could just not do it at all."

"Okay, okay. Whatever."

"Also, since this is a family bonding vacation, no Iron Man."

"WHAT? That isn't fair. What if I wanted to take her on a flight?"

"No. You are not building a suit for her. I know that you didn't say it, but you meant it. As for 'saving the world', Rhodey will have to do it."

"Okay, Rhodey can cover for me. As for the suit, I won't build her one yet. We will see if she wants one."

"Not at all, Tony. You know how dangerous that thing is!"

"It's fun, Pepper!"

"Not for a 16 year old! She could be injured."

"Whatever. I won't build her one."

"Good."

"Pepper, Tony?" Happy said, "We are here."


	7. Chapter 7

_Lily's P.O.V._

I stared down at my cell phone on Tuesday evening with my dad's number highlighted on the contact list. I only needed to press one button to phone him. One measly button. Why was that so hard to do? When we talked, it sounded like he wanted this to work, but I was still scared of reality. I wanted to be with him so bad, but I was still full of doubts. This was stupid. I was phoning my dad! There was no need to be this scared. Summoning as much courage as I could, I hit the button and put the phone to my ear.

"Hello?" My dad sounded quite annoyed. I really hoped that I wasn't interrupting anything.

"Dad? It's Lily."

"Oh, hi! Um... Just a second alright?" I waited, listening to muffled voices in the background. I heard a door shut and my dad came back on.

"Sorry about that, I was in a meeting."

"I can call back later, if you want."

"No, this is fine. I hate meetings. So... When is a good time to fly out here? You will be taking my private jet. I can either meet you here or I can fly out there, it's up to you. Also, I can arrange for someone to pick you up. It's whatever you like."

"I don't care. Any day at any time is good."

"Well, then. How about Friday at 10 am?"

"Sounds great."

"You didn't answer my other question, Lily."

That was the question that I had feared. Should I fly home with him? I had no idea how long the flight was, but it was almost guaranteed that it would be awkward. Then again, if he doesn't fly with me, I would be all alone on a private jet and would have to save the awkwardness for at home.

"If you wanted to fly with me that would be great." I said, making up my mind. "That is, if you aren't busy or anything. It's okay if you are."

"No, Lily. I'll fly with you. I wouldn't have offered if I was too busy, and anyways, I will never be too busy for you."

Those words warmed up my heart. It was the first time that anyone had said anything sentimental to me since Mom died. Sure, there were tons of condolences, but nothing as meaningful as that, especially coming from someone who I had only met once.

"Thanks." That was all I could think of to say.

"So... What do you want in your room? I started it, but don't tell Pepper. Do you want to know what I did, or do you want a surprise?"

"I like surprises."

"Okay, then you will see Friday. I need you to help me, though. What kind of toys do you want? I can get you anything. Laptops, t.v.s, game systems, anything. Whatever you want."

That was so tempting. There were so many things that I wanted my whole life that my mom would never get me. She didn't like to spoil me because that spoiling kids make brats. I wonder where she got that idea from now that I think about it...

"Um... I want a computer. I really don't care what kind, but something to be able to video chat with my friends. I guess that means that I will need a webcam and microphone too."

"That's all?"

"Yep."

I wasn't going to dare to ask for anything else. I hope that I wasn't pressing my luck by asking for a computer. Mine was so old and slow that I abandoned it. It took half an hour to turn on.

"You are way too easy, Lily. I have one in there already. If that is all that you wanted, then you are going to be in for a huge surprise. By the way, what colour do you want your walls?"

I thought back to the walls of my bedroom back at home and the comfort that I got from it. It was the feeling of home.

"Sky blue."

"Done deal. I will get on that. If you don't like it, we can always change it. I will make this room whatever you want it to be."

"Sounds great."

"Oh! This is random, but what size are your feet?"

"Um... Eight."

"Thanks. Don't tell Pepper that I asked you that. Promise me."

"I promise."

"Okay, I trust you. I have to go, Lily. The meeting is almost done and I have to still present something to the board."

"You do that. Bye, Dad."

"Bye, Lily."

The line went silent. I fell backwards onto my bed, realising that I had been passing for the entire phone call. Two more days until I move to Malibu. Almost everything that I was bringing was packed. There wasn't all that much, as my Dad pre-arranged to get my stuff before we even met. Miss. Gruiller informed me of that after his sudden departure. I really missed by books.

A stared at my roof, imaging my new room. I really hoped that I could see the ocean. I borrowed Emma's magazine that featured my future house, but I was still too scared to look at it, in case it was all a lie. I did look at the exterior on the page that she shoved in my face the other night. I reached over to my bed side table and flipped to it. The house was huge. It was built right on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean. Almost that entire side was windows. It was stunning. As Emma pointed out, the architecture was quite nice as well. It was so round and flowing. I hated corners and square houses, so the design was my dream. Maybe my dad and I had more alike than I thought. The more I gazed at the page, the more excited that I got. This was going to be my home, if these pictures could be trusted. I smiled. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all.


	8. Chapter 8

_Lily's P.O.V._

It was Friday at 9:45, and Emma and I were waiting for whoever my Dad sent to pick me up. We sat on the swinging bench on the front deck, from which we could see all the way down the scarcely house lined street, with all my various bags and boxes in a pile beside the stairs. We had hardly said a word to one another the entire time we sat there because it was simple too painful. It was hard to leave my best friend who had stood by me my entire life to go and live the life of the rich and famous. Suddenly, we heard the familiar sound of a car driving down the town's gravel roads.

The car was not just a car, or a taxi like I had expected. It was far from that, but I should have predicted it, having Tony Stark as my father. It was a sleek, black limo that was obviously not from around here. I wondered if he flew in from Malibu. Yep. When the limo drove closer, I could clearly make out the California license plate. Only he would fly in a vehicle to pick up his daughter.

After what seemed like an eternity, the car came to a stop in front of Emma's house. I felt like I could hardly breathe. This was it. Emma and I stood up in unison just before the back door of the limo opened from the inside. I could hardly believe my eyes when my Dad got out. I thought that he would just meet me at the airport, not drive two hours to pick me up. He was dressed in an impeccable dark striped suit and tie and sporting a matching pair of sunglasses. He looked way out of place in a town as small and relaxed as this.

"Hey, Lily!" He called, walking up to the house with a smile on his face. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Emma." I replied, walking towards the stairs to grab my bag.

"Hey, Emma. Nice to meet you!" He waved at her from the sidewalk as he walked towards the house to help me with my bags.

"H-hi." Emma stuttered. She looked in awe at my dad like it was not possible that Tony Stark was in her front yard. It was completely different from the excited way that she talked about him earlier.

My dad and I grabbed all my stuff and put it in the trunk of the limo. By that time, Emma had made her way to the middle of the yard and her parents we standing on the stairs. My dad walked towards them and I made a bee line for Emma.

Emma eyes her red and she was sniffling, trying so hard not to cry. I pulled her into a tight hug.

"I promise that I will phone you, email you and video chat with you. Maybe you could even come to visit, or I could come here. It's going to be okay."

The more that I talked, the more real the situation became and by the end of those sentences, we both had tears rolling down our faces. I almost didn't hear my dad come up behind me and place his hand on my shoulder.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Yes." I answered, pulling away from the hug. He was right. If we didn't leave now, I would never be able to let go.

My dad opened the door to the limo and ushered me inside. I sat down on one of the couches along the side. He closed the door and sat across from me.

"Happy? Let's go!" He called to the driver, before turning to me.

"Are you okay? Do you want anything? It will be noon by the time we make it to Bismarck, so do you want to eat then, or on the plane? I don't care."

"I'm not all that hungry." I said kind of awkwardly. I turned and faced out the window.

"Okay, then. If you want anything, don't be afraid."

The two hour drive went by fairly quickly. Soon, I could see Bismarck in the distance.

"Sure you don't want any food?" My dad asked, putting down his phone that he had been playing on the whole trip.

"I could eat." I answered.

"Do you like Burger King? I love Burger King?"

"I guess." I had never actually been to Burger King. McDonald's, yes, but never Burger King.

"Happy, detour to Burger King."

20 minutes and a burger later, we were pulling up to the airport. I could see the Stark Industries jet in the boarding zone. That thing was not a jet. It was a flying monster. It was as big, or maybe bigger as the commercial aircrafts right next to it. Instead of going through the main building, Happy drove right up to the plane, where stairs were set up.

"Here we are!" My dad said, opening the door and climbing out with me following. We all grabbed some luggage and climbed into the plane. It was huge! There was a big open area with couches and tables as well as a bedroom in the front. It was also quite high tech, with flat screen TVs and speakers installed in the roof.

"Wow." I muttered under my breath.

"You like it? I usually have flight attendants, but I couldn't trust them not to blab to the press about you, so it's just up three today. Pepper wanted to come, but she is sitting in on meetings for me. I took a couple of weeks off of work. I am all yours."

He walked over to the bar and poured himself a scotch. I sat down awkwardly in one of the chairs. My dad joined me.

"Seatbelts." He said.

We then took off. I had only been on a plane once before in my life, and it was on a trip that I took with my mom to Florida when I was 10. I loved the feeling that you get going up. It was exciting and exhilarating. I must have had a big smile on my face because my dad turned to me and said,

"I love flying too. Maybe that is why I love my suit so much."

Okay, so now he is bringing up the suit. This is the first time that we spoke and it wasn't awkward small talk.

"It sounds like lots of fun, to be able to fly like that without the limitations of an aircraft."

"It is. I broke the sound barrier the first time that I flew the Mark 3 suit. I was on my way to Gulmira."

"Wait. That was you that destroyed those weapons in Gulmira! Did you cause the 'Training Accident' as well?" I remembered that time. My mom paid very close attention to what was happening in the world and said that I should too, because everything affects everyone, either directly or indirectly.

"He hit me!" My dad said grinning.

For the rest of the trip, Dad and I discussed his many adventures as Iron Man. I became less and less shy the more we talked. When I started to ask about the suit's mechanics, he was quite impressed at what I knew. He seemed even more impressed when I told him my IQ level. That conversation we interrupted though when Happy came and told us to put on our seat belts because we were landing. Malibu, here I come!


	9. Chapter 9

_Lily's P.O.V._

The California air hit me as soon as the door to the plane opened after landing on the Stark Industries private airstrip. It was so much warmer than it was when we left North Dakota. My dad followed me down the stairs towards the limo.

"Look at that window, Lily." He said, pointing at a wall of windows facing towards us on the side of one of the Stark Industries building. Pepper was in the window waving. I waved back to her enthusiastically.

"Ready?" Happy asked, through the open window of the limo. I now understood why we were taking it. The back windows were so tinted that you couldn't make out anything inside. It was the perfect way to transport your secret daughter.

"Yep." I answered, entering the vehicle. The ride to Stark Manor was not that long, or at least it didn't seem like it. There was so much to see out the windows. I gazed in awe at everything around me. When we finally reached the ocean, I couldn't tear my eyes away from it.

"That's the Pacific." My dad said. He had been narrating that entire trip.

"It's so blue!"

"Yep. I will have to take you out there on the yacht one day. Maybe I'll even teach you how to surf. Not that I'm any good myself. I would much rather fool around with my computer than swim. By the way, that's pretty much the view from your bedroom."

Soon, we pulled onto a long, winding, tree-lined driveway up to the manor. It was more beautiful than I ever could have imagined. It was identical to the pictures in the magazine. There was obviously not much picture editing going on there. The place was huge! Everything had a beautiful flow to it and it was as though there were no breaks at all. Happy stopped in the roundabout in front of the door.

"We're home." My dad said, opening the door and climbing out. I followed closely behind, kind of nervous, even though I was not sure why. Right before he opened the front door, my dad paused and turned around.

"I should warn you, as it scares some people, but I have an A.I. named JARVIS. He basically runs the house. If you need anything, just ask him. He also will unlock doors by code and face recognition. This is your key card and your PIN for the front door as well as for my workshop. JARVIS will make a face recognition account for you today. I think that's all."

He opened the door and walked inside. Okay, this place officially seemed bigger on the inside. My dad led me from room to room, showing me around before returning to the enormous living room.

"Down those stairs, " Dad said, pointing to the staircase to the right of the awesome water fountain (so that's what Emma must have been talking about...), "is my workshop. That's where everything that is mine is: my cars, my robots and my suits. Everything else in this place, minus your room, has been designed by interior designers. It's not that I don't like it, but all of my personal touches are down there. Anyway, up those stairs, are the bedrooms, my formal home office as well as various other rooms."

He led me up the stairs on the right to the second floor. He pointed at several doors and spoke, but I could hardly pay attention anymore. My room was on this floor! Suddenly, my dad halted in front of a pair of white double doors.

"This is your room, Lily."

I turned the handle and walked inside. It was the most beautiful place that I have ever been. It beat the rest of the mansion by a landslide. The walls were painted the beautiful blue that I imagined in my dreams and it went so well with the colour of the ocean, which I could see through the wall of windows covering the back wall. The floor was black and shiny, reflecting everything. My king size bed had a beautiful white comforter that was covered in piles of various size pillows. Across for it, was a huge flat screen TV. A large desk sat in the corner with a brand new laptop waiting to be used. That was the only thing that I asked for and this room had so much more than that.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" I basically yelled pulling my dad into a hug. This seemed to shock him almost as much as the first hug I gave him, because he again stiffened before returning it.

"You like it?" He asked as I pulled away, a smile bright on his face.

"It's the greatest thing that I have ever seen in my entire life!"

"That's good. By the way, your floor is completely holograph capable. It's the same as in my workshop. JARVIS will help you use it, but you will catch on quickly enough. You are smart. All of your stuff is in your closet, ready for you to move in. I'll see you later, okay."

I nodded and he left the room. I gazed around at the beautifully decorated room one last time before running and jumping onto my bed, laughing so hard. This room was a dream come true! I jumped off and ran across the room to my closet. That thing was almost as big as my room at home! I spent the rest of the day unpacking and playing around with all my new toys. It was a little intimidating to be taught how to set up the Stark computer by a computer, but JARVIS soon became my first friend in California.

"Lily?" My dad's voice came through the speakers making me jump.

"Yes?" I answered.

"Pepper brought home some pizza. Are you hungry?"

"Kind of."

"We are in the living room."

I bolted out of room and ran down the stairs, and sure enough, Pepper and Dad were sitting on the couch with a box of pizza on the coffee table in front of them. Pepper smiled when I grabbed a piece and sat down in a chair.

"Welcome home, Lily! Sorry about having to have pizza. I was working like crazy all day and your dad can't cook to save his life. Although, he once attempted to make an omelet. It took him three hours."

"It was my first time, okay!" My dad said, with his mouth full of food.

"I'm sure that it was better than I could have made it." I said.

"No, it was bad." Pepper laughed. "I ate it all. I didn't have the heart to throw it out."

For the rest of the night, Dad, Pepper and I curled up on the couch and watched TV. It was nice to do normal things with them. It was just one day and I already started to feel like I belonged here more than I ever did, even when my mom was alive. We always fought about everything, while my dad and I saw eye to eye and Pepper looks like she couldn't hurt a fly. I suddenly began to have high hopes for my future. This was going to be great.

A.N. Did I ever mention how much I dislike describing things? I never seem to be able to get the things that I imagine down on paper. Anyways, I hope that you enjoy it. Now that Lily is basically settled in Malibu, it's about time for the real fun to begin.


	10. Chapter 10

_Lily's P.O.V._

My first week at Stark Manor went by pretty quickly. Dad, Pepper and I spent the weekend basically just getting to know each other. Dad took me downstairs quite a bit into his shop, where he taught me about all of his robots, his suits and even JARVIS. He also let me play with his body scanner and made a life size hologram of myself which was truthfully quite terrifying. I really wanted to know about his reactor, but I he seemed to really avoid the topic. I found that kind of strange that he trusts me enough to tell me how to program his A.I., but not enough to say how the thing that is keeping him alive works. As for Pepper, she forced me to shop. I was basically under house arrest until the press conference, so we spent way too many hours shopping for clothes online. I hate shopping.

When Monday hit, Pepper went back to work and my Dad went down to his shop with specific instructions not to bug him between certain hours. He also begged me not to tell Pepper. I wonder why that is. He seems to tell me a lot of things that I can't tell her. During those hours, I played around with stuff in my room. I couldn't believe how much cutting edge technology that my Dad could fit into one place. He even taught me how to make holograms of my clothes so that I can try them on my hologram of myself to save time. It took forever, but it felt so good to say that I did it.

It wasn't until Friday that a realisation hit. It was my birthday on Sunday. This was the first birthday that I would not spend with my mother. I laid down on the lounger in my room facing the ocean and pondered on that thought. Does my Dad, or even Pepper, know my birthday? Should I tell them, or just ignore it if they don't know? I shook those fears away. They are my parents now. They should know their only daughter's birthday!

Saturday went by without even a slight mention or hint at the day ahead. Dad and I played a very intense game of Monopoly (if I wouldn't have landed on Boardwalk, I would have won) as Pepper co-ordinated meetings. I swear she never stops working. She can't go without her phone for over five seconds. That doesn't really bother my dad though, as she is doing his job for him.

When I woke up Sunday, the sun was already up and streaming through the usually darkened windows.

"JARVIS! I'm trying to sleep!" I grumble to the A.I.

"Good morning, Miss Stark." It really bugged me that he called me that at first, but it doesn't anymore. I am Lily Stark now, not Lily Summers. "Your father had requested me to brighten your room because he says that it is about time that you get up. By the way, I would like to me the first one to wish you a very happy 17th birthday."

I rolled out of bed and quickly got ready. Dad usually let me sleep as long as I wanted. He must have remembered my birthday then. As soon as I looked sort of presentable, I ran down the stairs.

"Happy birthday, Lily!" I heard my dad yell from the couch. "Beat you, Pepper! I told her first!"

"Actually, Dad, JARVIS beat you."

"WHAT? JARVIS! That's not fair!"

"I spoke to her first, sir." JARVIS replied.

"Happy birthday!" Pepper said, pulling me into an embrace.

"Present time!" My dad said. "Pepper goes first."

I sat down on the couch and unwrapped the small box that Pepper handed me. Inside was a beautiful set of earrings with my birthstone in them. They were the most beautiful pair of earrings that I have ever known.

"Thank you so much!" I said hugging her.

"My turn!" My dad said excitingly. "It's in the shop."

Pepper and I followed his lead into the shop. I almost cried when the doors opened.

In the middle of the shop was a brand new 2014 Audi R8 V10 with a huge bow on the top. The licence plate read LILYS1. I ran around it about 20 times before running and almost jumping on my dad.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" I yelled.

"You're welcome. I wish I could have gotten you one for your 16th birthday, but this will have to do. I used to have an older one just like it, but it kind of got smashed. Blame it on Rhodey."

"When can I try it?" I asked hopefully, even though I knew full well what the answer would be.

"After the press conference." Pepper said quickly. My dad frowned. I could tell that he would have let me drive it right then and there.

"Lily, I have one more thing for you." My dad said, avoiding Pepper's confused glance. "JARVIS? Bring it out."

The back doors to the shop opened and I saw something that was even better than the $170,000 car in front of me. It was my own Iron Man suit. It was almost identical to my dad's, but with some obvious gender differences. It was also a different colour. While his was red and gold, mine was blue and silver and it sparkled under the fluorescent lights. I didn't even have words to express my thoughts. I just stared at it in awe.

"What is _that?_" Pepper snapped at my dad. "You promised me that you would not build her a suit." That's why he didn't want me to tell all those things. She would have figured it out.

"Pepper, if I want to give _my _daughter a suit, I can."

"She can hurt herself, Tony!"

"She will be careful and I will help her."

"Tony, it's too dangerous."

"No, it's not. I am old enough to balance the pros and cons. It's almost impossible to get hurt if you're not fighting in it."

"Whatever, Tony. I am not responsible for any injuries from that thing, you understand?" With that, she marched out.

"Don't worry, Lily. It's not dangerous."

"I'll be careful." I said walking towards it and running my hand across the chest, my hand freezing for a second over the arc reactor. "How do you know it will fit?"

"Well, I got your shoe size on the phone that day and the rest of the dimensions from that body scan. I hope that it fits comfortably. If not, I'll alter it."

"When can I learn to fly it?"

"How about now?"

I smiled as he dragged me towards the platform in the middle of the room.

A.N. If any of you are wondering about my comment about Rhodey destroying Tony's car, it's from a deleted scene in Iron Man when Tony is fighting the Iron Monger. Rhodey crashes it and Tony rips the roof off, so who is responsible is your call. I imagine that Tony would blame Rhodes because nothing is ever Tony's fault in his eyes. Well, I hope you enjoyed it! Leave comments below!


	11. Chapter 11

_Lily's P.O.V._

My dad put on his suit first. It was another upgrade up from the one that he wore during the fight in New York.

"One of these days, I'm going to make a suit that assembles itself." He said, stepping off the raised platform with the front of his helmet open. "Anyways, you're up!"

I stepped onto the platform nervously. As excited as I was, I was a tiny bit nervous to be dressed by a group of robots that came out of the floor. Seriously, they have drills! What if they miss and drill into my arm or something.

"JARVIS? Suit her up!" My dad said.

Suddenly, the floor split between my feet. The boots were the first to come up and, following my dad's example, stepped into them. The calf pieces clicked on as a bunch of robots swirled around me.

"Lift your arms!" My dad called out over the noise of the machines.

I lifted them and stuck them into the lowering gauntlets. The machines continued to assemble the parts until it finally let me go and snapped on the helmet.

"Okay, now walk around. How does it feel?"

I took a few cautious steps on the garage floor. It felt so strange to have so much metal around you. It was heavy, but at the same time held itself up and the machines inside helped you to walk. By the time I reached my dad, I was sort of comfortable walking.

"It's awesome!" I said, smiling. This was the most exciting thing that I have ever done.

"Ready to fly?"

"You bet."

My dad snapped down his face plate and I copied. I was very surprised when the HUD came on.

"Wow! You really got this thing programmed well!"

"Well, its Stark tech, so it's top of the line, and it's also for my own personal use, so it's about 10x better than the line. The military wishes that it had my HUD in their planes. They can't, of course, because JARVIS runs it."

"It's awesome! Now, how do you fly?"

"Well, you kind of just tell JARVIS to. JARVIS runs the suit. Everything is entirely voice activated. You want to fly, tell JARVIS to fly. I would advise to start with about, um... 1% thrust capacity. Don't act so surprised. You can break the sound barrier with those repulsors!"

"Okay, then. JARVIS, I will start with 1% thrust capacity." Suddenly, the repulsors on my hands lit up, pushing my arms upwards. My feet ones followed. I was hovering about a foot off the ground.

"JARVIS? Bump her up to 2.5." I heard my dad say.

My suit rose higher. I was now about 3 feet up and bent into a really awkward position. It was hard to stand straight when you had so much force on your body.

"Try to move around a bit, Lily."

"And how do I do that?"

"Move your hands. They are just flight stabilisers. I thought you knew that."

"I do know that. It's just that all your knowledge kind of gets thrown out the window when you fear for your life!"

"That's when you're going to need it the most. Come on, move your arms."

I shifted me arms slightly backwards, moving my suit forwards. I kept going until I was getting dangerously close to a cement wall. I pushed my hands out to stop me and surprisingly, it worked. The repulsors pushed me away before I could touch it. I flew back towards my dad.

"Let's land, JARVIS."

My dad helmet flew up and smiled at me.

"That wasn't too bad, was it?"

"No, it was fun and terrifying at the same time." I said, flipping up my face plate.

My dad chuckled.

"Tell me about it! The first time that I flew an entire suit was over Malibu. I tried to beat the record for highest fixed wing flight."

"What happened?"

"My suit got cold and froze up. I almost fell to my death, but I got the ice off and flaps open in time. That's why I switched over to a gold-titanium alloy."

"What else is hidden in this thing, other than flaps?"

"In yours? Not too much. I knew Pepper would get very mad for giving a suit to you, but she might have actually left us if I put weapons on it. So, your suit has no _real_ weapons. All yours can really do is fly and shoot repulsor blasts, if you want to call them that."

"So I can blow stuff up."

"Of course you can! What's the point of having a suit if you can't blow stuff up?"

"Not much really."

"Exactly! We might have to wait for another day for that, though. It's better to try those things outside. I learnt that the hard way. Anyways, it's almost lunch and I'm sure that Pepper cooked something delicious for you. I might not be allowed to eat for breaking her rules like that, but she will come around. She always does."

As if right on cue, Pepper's voice came through the speakers.

"Are you two coming up for lunch, or am I going to have to go down there and dismantle your suits?"

Although she still sounded a little annoyed, there was a joking tone in her voice.

"We will be right up." My dad answered.

"Okay, as long as it is quicker than your usual 'be right up'. The food will be cold in 3 hours, Tony!"

"Okay, okay!"

I giggled. That is so like my dad to be 3 hours late for a meal. Actually, I don't think that he has ever been on time in his life. He runs on his own, personalized, Tony Stark time. It magically slows down when he is doing something that he enjoys and speeds up when he is doing something that he hates. The whole 'time flies when you're having fun' concept just doesn't work well with him.

"Let's get out of these things." My dad said to me. "I'm going first, so I can help you if something goes wrong." He stood on the podium and I watched as his suit disappeared under the floor. Not even 20 seconds later, it rose out of the floor and in its clear glass case in the armor gallery.

"Your turn."

I copied exactly what my dad did and my suit came off without a hitch. I soon saw it appear in the new round display cabinet in the corner. I stepped off the podium, tripping and almost falling flat on my face due to the lack of weight and help from the machine. It was kind of like what you felt like after jumping on a trampoline for a while. It felt strange to be walking normally. Luckily, my dad caught me.

"Careful. Imagine Pepper's face if you got hurt! She would never believe me if I told her it was from falling from 6 inches up without the suit on!"

Together, we laughed and walked towards to door, ready to eat the delicious food that waited for us up the stairs.

A.N. That was fun! I hope that you all enjoyed it! I want my own suit now. It would be so much quicker to get to school than having to take the bus! Leave your comments in that box bellow. Yep, that one. I know that you all looked at it! Now just fill it with what you think and make me smile! Comments make my day!


	12. Chapter 12

_Tony's P.O.V._

I didn't try to eavesdrop. Honestly, I didn't! It's kind of hard not to when you walk by your daughter's room at 11:00 on the evening of her 17th birthday and her bedroom door is slightly open. She was video chatting with her best friend. That itself would have been enough to stop me in my tracks, but she was talking about me. That sort of sealed the deal, which is why I stood outside her door listening to her conversation.

"What's life like with your dad?" I heard Lily's friend say. I racked my brain trying to remember her name. I could memorize complex equations, but names never came easily to me. Emma. That's it.

"It's okay. We do quite a bit of stuff together and he teaches me so much. It's nice to be taught by someone whose intelligence level is higher than yours. Other than when we do stuff together, I am bored out of my mind. Emma, I programmed holographs for every single piece of clothing I own! Now that I'm done that, I have no idea what to do. I haven't even gone outside in over a week. I'm starting to go a little stir crazy."

"Lily, you know that they are doing that to protect you."

"I know that, but I think that I would rather be harassed by the press than be locked up in this prison for another week. It's a very nice prison, mind you, but I am used to spending countless hours outside, not stuck in my room."

My heart sank. Emma was right; Pepper and I were doing this to protect her. I really didn't think that she would feel that bad about her situation. I could stay in my house for months without leaving and I would be fine with it. I just thought with enough distractions that it wouldn't be all that bad.

"Come on, Lily. All that you wanted when you were here was to have a place where you could fool around with technology and all that robotic stuff that you would not shut up about. You have that now!"

"Yes, but now I have _Tony Stark_ breathing down my back, watching my every move. It's hard to 'fool around' with stuff when the greatest engineer ever is standing behind you! Also, I feel as though everything that I do will never even come close to rivaling his. He teaches me stuff, but even I find a few things way over my head."

I bit my lip and tried to stop myself from running in there and giving my daughter and huge hug. I wanted to tell her that everything that she does is perfect and that she should never compare herself with anyone. She would grow up to me a much better person and even maybe a much better engineer than I ever was. It hurt me so much that she was scared to work with me. I never expected my own daughter to be intimidated be me.

"Lily, he's your dad. I'm sure that you could completely destroy that A.I. of his and he wouldn't care. You thought the same about your mom. She was the greatest baker that I have ever laid eyes on and you hated baking in her kitchen. I had to force you into baking her a birthday cake. These people love you and would never ever think lower of you if you mess up."

"I guess that your right, but I hate when people are disappointed in me."

"No one is ever going to be disappointed in you, unless you do something extremely stupid like get into drugs or get pregnant. Then I will be disappointed in you, as will my parents and your parents and everyone. They will not be disappointed because you burnt a cake."

"Thanks. I promise that I will never do stupid things like that. You should know that I am smarter than that."

"I know that you are. Well, goodnight Lily. You know, it's quarter after one here. My mom would kill me if she heard me, especially since I have school tomorrow. Call me earlier next time, okay?"

"Sorry! Bye, Emma."

"Bye Lily."

I turned away from the door and walked towards my room, trying to process that. She had the same feelings that I did. I could not stand growing up knowing that my father would always be disappointed in my accomplishments. That is why I pushed myself that hard. I couldn't believe that I was unknowingly doing the same to my own daughter.

Pepper was already in bed reading after I got changed. I slid under the covers next to her and wrapped my arm around her waist.

"Pepper, am I bad parent?" I asked, looking up into her eyes.

"Why on earth would you think that?" She asked, startled.

"I just eavesdropped on Lily's conversation with Emma and -"

"You eavesdropped on Lily's conversation?" Pepper glared at me.

"You would have too! She was talking about me!"

"Tony, that is not a good enough excuse! We have to build a trusting relation-"

"Anyways," I said, cutting her off, "She said that she is sick of staying inside all the time and that she wants to play around with the tech in my shop, but she is too intimidated and scared that I would be disappointed in her! I can't let her feel like that!"

Pepper sighed.

"Then help her, Tony. Build something with her and guide her, but let her do the work. Also, make sure that you praise her. She obviously is used to it and seeks it."

"Okay, I'll do that, but what about the whole 'stuck in a prison' thing. Pepper, she called our house a prison."

"Tony, I am sure that you felt that way at seventeen."

"Uh, I was graduated university at seventeen and working in R and D. I basically did what I wanted. My parents gave up trying to stop me."

"Okay, whatever. I felt like Lily does. All I wanted to do was explore the world, yet I was trapped in my small town. Coming here and working for you was away out. I saw my town as a prison. People see things as prisons when they can't grow anymore in it. I learnt all that I could from my town and Lily learnt all that she could from her room. She wants to explore and that is perfectly normal."

"We should still do something about it."

"Do you think that she is ready for this?"

"I think so. The press isn't too awful."

"You haven't been the one dealing with them all week! Have you not watched the news? People aren't buying the whole 'sick with the flu' spiel. It's suspicious, especially since I took over your job and not just expected you to be better in a few days."

"Then tell them it is a personal matter. That will kind of prepare them."

"Oh, so more rumors can be made? Tony, the only reason that they are not trying to break down your front door is because they think you are sick. If they know that you are off for personal reasons and given that you have no family that they know of, that could go wrong."

"Okay, change the date of the press conference to Wednesday. That way I can still stay home for a few days after the announcement. "

"That might work better. The press will get a chance to calm down before you go back to work."

"What's going to happen to Lily when we are both working?"

"She should go to school."

"Pepper! She is almost as smart as I am! She is at a university level. She can't just go to a school, especially since she is my daughter."

"Send her to UCLA."

"I don't know, Pepper..."

"If you want her close to home, then that is where she will have to go. She can even drive home every day. It's not that long of a drive."

"Well, let's talk to her about it."

"Okay."

With that, we snuggled together and fell asleep.


	13. Chapter 13

_Lily's P.O.V._

This was the day. The whole world was about to find out that I was Tony Stark's daughter. I was terrified. I really had no idea what to expect. This whole press thing was new to me. I didn't want paparazzi following me everywhere or my face plastered on every magazine in the country. I thought back to the days before I moved, how my dad had warned me about it and how Emma was excited about it. How could anyone be excited to have their lives completely public?

A knocking on the door pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Come in." I called.

My dad walked in, closed the door and sat down on my bed which I was lying on. He was dressed as he always did for the public: a custom made suit, a matching tie and a pair of his signature sun glasses that he was currently holding in his hand.

"Nervous?" He asked.

"Kind of."

"You should be." I was shocked by that.

"What?" He continued, "I'm just telling the truth. They are going to love you, Lily. They will follow you whenever you leave this house for at least the next month. People will want to learn everything that they can about my mysterious daughter. We will do everything in our power to keep them away. In order for that to happen, you will have to do some interviews. I will personally be there for every single one of them. I will get the questions in advance and help you answer them, but you will have to learn to be able to do that on your own. Pepper would probably be better than me for that, since I tend to just screw everything up. "

"You don't screw everything up."

"I told the whole world that I was Iron Man against the wishes of everybody at S.H.I.E.L.D.! That basically messed up my life entirely. If I could just keep my mouth shut every once and a while, I might actually do some good... Anyways, that's in the past. I can't change that. What are you wearing?"

The sudden change of subject caught me off guard. Also, what on Earth is S.H.I.E.L.D?

"I don't know."

"Let's see, shall we?" My dad clicked his fingers and the holograph image of me appeared. "JARVIS? Go through Lily's virtual clothing and chose a few outfits that would be appropriate for this afternoon."

A line of holographic clothing appeared in front of us. My dad flicked through them, trying each on the mannequin.

"This one." My dad said. It was a pair of dark blue skinny jeans with a light purple flowing top. It also had a pair of matching purple flats and a long, silver necklace.

"Umm... Okay."

"You don't like it?"

"I didn't say that."

"Just wear it, Lily. It's perfect. It is simple, and that's what we are looking for. We also need something a little nicer than a pair of sweats and a baggy sweater. I know that it's not exactly your style, but just for today. Please?"

"Fine. I'll have you know that I hate purple."

"It looks good on you. It goes great with your hair."

I couldn't disagree with that one.

"Go try it on."

I walked into my perfectly organized closet and closed the door. I found the articles of clothing right away and put them on.

"You look beautiful." My dad said as I walked out.

"Thanks."

"Okay, let's go!"

I really had no clue how a press conference worked. When our limo arrived (it was the same on with the tinted back windows), it pulled up to the back of the building. We all got out. Pepper led me off to the side of the room behind a wall. No one would be able to see me. Pepper grabbed my hand and squeezed it tight. With one last encouraging smile, my dad walked up to the podium.

"Hello, everyone." He said. "As you know, I have been off of work for the past week and a half. This was not due to an illness and you have been previously informed. This was due to a personal situation. About one month ago, I got a phone call. That phone call changed my life. I was told that I had a daughter."

The entire room gasped and I squeezed Pepper's hand as hard as I could.

"This came as a huge surprise for me as well." My dad continued over the muttering voices of the crowd, "I was never informed that I had a child, or that something horrible had happened in my daughter's life. Her mother passed away in a car accident the day before I was notified. This left her in my possession."

There was another outbreak of muttering in the crowd.

"Two Fridays ago, my daughter moved in with me. I took time off of work to help her settle in. Her name is Lily and she just turned 17 on Sunday. Lily, would you like to come up here please?"

Pepper gave me one last squeeze before I walked up and stood beside my dad. There were so many people there. The room was full of people with voice recorders, video cameras and normal cameras. I could hardly even see half because I was so blinded by the flash.

"Here she is." My dad placed his hand on my shoulder and gave it a little squeeze that was not noticeable from the audience. "This is my pride and joy. She is extremely intelligent and will be attending UCLA starting next week. She will be starting her undergrad in mechanical engineering. Thank you, Lily."

I smiled at the audience and walked off stage. Pepper pulled me into a hug.

"You did great." She whispered. "Don't worry. You will get plenty of opportunities to talk. Tony just wanted to cover all the basics today and give them all that they need to make a good story so that they won't bug us for a while."

"Now," My dad said, "are there any questions? I will take uhhh... five."

"Where is Lily from?" A young woman near the front asked.

"She is from a small town in North Dakota." My dad's face made it pretty clear that he was not going to say anything more about my hometown. He obviously knew how much harm that could cause the place.

"What was her mother's name?" Another audience member asked.

"I am not revealing that either." My dad said. "I know that you could use that to find out where Lily lived and where she went to school. I am not that stupid. Are there any questions that don't involve Lily's town?"

"Will Lily be accompanying on Iron Man missions?"

"No, she will not. It is far too dangerous. I would not risk her life."

"Where does Pepper Potts fit into this?"

"Pepper is living with Lily and I. She is a maternal figure for Lily."

"Do you think that Pepper is replacing Lily's mother?"

"No. Pepper is a mother figure, but she is not Lily's mother. I'm sure that Lily has a special place in her heart for the both of them where they can live side by side. One does not have to replace the other. Thank you all for coming. That is all."

With that, my dad walked towards me.

"Come on! Hurry!" He grabbed my arm and we all ran to the door where the limo was waiting. There were already photographers there. My dad swore under his breath and quickly opened the door and went straight to the limo, completely ignoring the flashing around us. I couldn't see anything. I really understood then why my dad wore sunglasses all the time. My dad opened the door to the vehicle and ushered Pepper and I in, with him last. He slammed the door closed.

"Happy, drive."

With that, we were off. My first encounter with the press was complete.


	14. Chapter 14

_Lily's P.O.V._

Saturday came quicker than I expected. I was no way ready for my first interview when my dad personally woke me up.

"Lily. Come on, you have to get up. You have been ignoring JARVIS for an hour. We still have tons of things to go over before we head out to L.A."

I groaned and turned away, covering my head with my comforter. My dad tried to pull them back, but I held on for my life.

"Lily, this is ridiculous. I know that the interview is not the thing that you would like to be doing on a Saturday morning, but it has to be done. I can't send you off to University with the press hounding us like this. I had to pull lots of strings to get you in this far into the semester. Wake up!"

I lowered the blanket. There was no way I was getting out of this one.

"Fine." I snapped, rolling out of bed and marching towards the bathroom. I put on the clothes that Pepper decided on the night before. They followed the same theme as the press conference: simple and pretty. When I returned to my room, my dad was still there, with a pile of cue cards in his hand from my desk.

"Did you even look at these?"

"Sort of..."

"Lily, this is important. We can't mess this up."

"All I have to do is say the truth, right? What is so challenging about that?"

"We have to protect people. We can't go blabbing about where you are from or who your friends are, or else they will try to use them to get information on us. I told you already that I learnt the hard way to follow the cards."

"Okay, whatever. I will read them."

"You are cranky in the mornings. Come on, Pepper has breakfast ready."

"I am not cranky!"

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

This fight continued all the way to the dining room. I knew that I was cranky, but I was not going to admit that. I had the right to be. Interviews seemed awful. I didn't like knowing that the whole world could hear what I was going to say or that everything that I say could and would be used against me. It was like getting arrested, minus the criminal record.

An hour later, we all headed out towards the garage. I was about to get into the back of my dad's favorite car when he called out to me.

"Lily, don't you want to drive?"

He pointed to my car which was parked in the corner of the room. It still had the huge bow on the top.

"YES!" I almost screamed.

I ran over to my car and hopped into the driver's seat. My dad got in the passenger side and Pepper sat in the back. I adjusted everything to my liking and my dad passed me the keys from the glove compartment. I turned the vehicle on, my body full of excitement. Very carefully, I pulled out of the garage and headed out to the driveway.

The car was so much more powerful than anything I had driven before. It was hard to keep it bellow the speed limit.

"Come on, Lily! You are driving a sports car." My dad said. "The speed limit is just a guideline."

"No, it's not, Tony." Pepper snapped from the back seat. "You are not getting her to drive over the limit."

"I'm not going to." I said. "I have no plans on getting a ticket."

"Chickens." My dad said before turning to stare at the ocean.

Forty-five minutes later, I pulled up at the news room where my interview was taking place. I arrived without a hitch, with was pretty good for me. I have never driven in city as big as L.A. before. JARVIS was very helpful. My dad programmed him into my GPS.

Right as we entered the building, we were brought into a medium sized room. In front of the back wall sat a small stage that had a couch and a chair on it. This was the place where I would do my first interview. One of the show's camera men guided us to our seats. Our whole family sat on the couch, with my dad to my left and Pepper to my right. I watched nervously as a bunch of people set up lights and microphones.

"You're going to do fine." My dad said to me, rubbing my hand. "I promise that won't do too many of these. I really prefer to keep my private life private and I know that you do too. After this, we are going to go out for some ice cream. I know the perfect spot."

I smiled up at him. At that moment, the interviewer stepped into the room. We all stood to greet her.

"Hi! I'm Sabrina Layner. I will be doing your interview today." She said as she sat down in her chair. We did the same and finished up the introductions. It was now time for the interview to begin.

Three hours later, my dad drove my car up to secluded beach. We had just drove through Dairy Queen and purchased large cones of soft ice cream, which was one of my most favorite things to eat ever. I could live on that stuff.

My dad parked the car and we all got out. He took off his shoes and socks and pulled his dress pants up to his knees and ran into the water. I knocked off my flats and followed, the bottom of my skirt flowing in the wind. Pepper sat down on the beach and watched. It felt so good to be standing in the warm ocean with the afternoon sun on my face while devouring ice cream. This was the dream life that I wanted to live. Not one full of interviews. It had actually gone pretty good. I didn't reveal any big secrets and the interviewer seemed satisfied with what we said. My dad was pretty impressed by me.

"Pepper, get in here!" My dad yelled.

"Not going to happen, Tony." Pepper protested.

My dad ran out of the water and picked her up.

"PUT ME DOWN!" Pepper yelled fighting against my dad's grip.

"Okay." By this time, he was already waist deep in the water, obviously not caring about his dry-clean only suit.

Pepper stood up, drenched. Her blue dress was ruined and her makeup ran down her face.

"TONY! You are going to pay for that!" She pushed my dad backwards into the water. I laughed at the shook on his face. I doubt that he thought that Pepper was strong enough to do that.

"Lily! How dare you laugh?" He said in mock anger. "You're next!"

I tried to run, but he was too fast for me. I got thrown in right next to Pepper.

We spent the next hour playing around. It was nice to have some fun with actual people and not just computers. This was what I had been missing all of those endless hours in my room. I hadn't had this much fun since my mom died. That hit me with a pang. Was I finally letting go?

"Okay, I'm cold." Pepper said, getting out of the water. I followed her with my dad bringing up the rear. He walked up to my car and opened the trunk, bringing out some towels. He through one each at Pepper and I and proceeded to take off his shirt. I stared at him in awe. This was the first time that I actually saw his arc reactor. I have seen the light glowing through his clothes, of course, but this was much more real. It was amazing that someone could do an operation that complicated in a cave. Whoever did it must have been quite smart and very brave.

My dad caught my eye and smirked before returning to the car. He pulled out a bag and opened it. He had brought a pair of pyjamas for all of us.

"Really, Tony? Pyjamas?" Pepper cringed as she took her pair.

"They are the best way to warm up!" My dad said defensively.

We all got in the car and my dad drove home, claiming that I would be too tired. I protested, but in reality, I was. I fell asleep before we even made it home.


	15. Chapter 15

A.N. Okay, well, I'm going to try something new. Thanks a lot to Lollypops101 for giving me this idea.

_Emma's P.O.V._

Thursday at school was horrible. I still can't believe how my life turned on a dime like that. Wednesday was perfectly normal. I stayed to myself and no one bothered me. I did get the occasional sympathy glance for losing my best friend, but no one cared enough to invite me to do anything with them. On Thursday, however, I was suddenly the most popular girl at school. Why? Because Tony Stark announced at a press conference Wednesday evening that Lily was his daughter. Although he didn't say her last name or where she was from, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that Tony's daughter Lily was the Lily Summers who attended our school a month and a half ago.

When Lily was here, I was her best friend. We did everything together. When her mother died, she moved in with me. Sure, when she quit school, I got questioned about how she was doing, but never like today. Suddenly, the two most ignored people in school were the center of everyone's attention.

It started as soon as I set foot on school grounds. Everyone turned and stared at me. Even the teachers didn't try to act subtle. I ignored all of them and marched to my locker and to my first class. Unfortunately, it was English. Just my luck. We always started class with a discussion that was the topic of a student's choice. Some boy that I didn't really know named Kurt was picked. I really hoped that he didn't go there.

"Lily Summers being Tony Stark's daughter."

Oh, he went there alright.

"I'm not all that surprised." A girl piped up from the back. "She graduated last year and just came for some advanced courses."

"Yes, but Tony Stark? She must be the richest 17 year old on the planet!" Another one said.

My teacher didn't say anything. I thought that she would avoid this topic, but apparently not.

"The luckiest too! Her dad is Iron Man!" Someone else said.

I put my head down on my desk and tried to ignore them all. I hated that they talked about her so much. She is still the same girl they ignored before. Now that she is rich and famous, she automatically more interesting. It was just awful.

"What about you, Emma." Someone said, forcing me into the conversation. "What do you think about this?"

"What's the big deal? Lily just moved in with her dad. She is still the same Lily that was here before. Nothing has changed."

"Nothing has changed?" The girl laughed. "She moved on from her almost poor baker mother to Tony Stark, a billionaire industrialist. That's what has changed."

"She is still Lily!" I snapped. "Money doesn't matter anyways."

"Of course money matters! I'm sure that she doesn't even care about you anymore. You are part of her past. She has superstars and superheroes to hang out with."

"I will have you know," I said, my voice rising, "I video chat with her almost daily."

Oops, not the best thing to say.

"You know her email address? Do you know her phone number too?"

"That's enough!" My teacher said. "Leave Emma alone."

Oh, so now she comes in. I can stand up for myself. I don't need teachers to stand up for me, so I ignored her.

"Yes, I have both those things, and more. Do you want them? You're not going to get them."

"Emma." My teacher said in a warning voice.

"Oh, I will." The girl replied. Who was she anyways? I really have to start paying more attention to other people.

"Emma and Kristy, go to the office. Now."

Well, I should have seen that coming. Oh, well. My mom wouldn't care if I was sticking up for myself. Kristy (I remember her now. She made fun of Lily for reading a university level engineering textbook) and I walked down a flight of stairs and headed straight for the office. As soon as we entered, Mr. Kindam took Kristy into her office and sent me off into another room. I entered and sat down, looking at the various posters about dealing with death, drugs and pregnancy. Too late, I realised I was in a guidance room.

Miss Pocket, one of my school's guidance counselors walked in.

"Hi, Emma." She said, taking the only other chair in the room. "I heard that you are having a hard time today."

"I am not having a hard time!" I said quite defensively. She is probably used to people snapping at her, because she didn't even flinch.

"Okay, but I know that students have been bugging you about your friend, Lily."

"A little, but it doesn't matter."

"It does matter if it makes life hard on you."

"Well, it doesn't. I will have to get used to it. I am Lily's best friend and I am very proud to say that."

"Okay. Just know that you can always talk to me if you are need to. Also, Mr. Kindam wanted me to talk to you about something that is happening tomorrow. Tony Stark just announced that he is doing a live interview with Lily at 11am L.A. time, which is about 1 pm here. We were going to watch it as a school because she is former student. He said that you did not have to attend the showing or any classes afterwards, but he still expects you at school tomorrow morning."

"I will think about it." I lied. There was no way that I was watching Lily get interviewed in front of the whole school.

"I will tell him that. Thanks for your time, Lily. You may return to class."

"Bye."

The rest of the day was basically the same. Everyone knew that I had Lily's email and phone number and they would not stop until they got it. It was so stressful. Someone even tried to steal my cell phone, although her new number wasn't on there. I was not that stupid.

When I got home, I found out that the day was not all that much better for my parents. They were questioned relentlessly about Lily as well.

"Well," My dad said, between bites of potato at supper. "At least Mr. Stark is considerate enough to keep the press away from here."

"I just hope that no one at my school phones them." I said, swirling my peas in a circle.

"Me too." My mom said, frowning.

Friday was not all that better. I avoided people as much as possible and stuck by teachers. They only asked questions like: 'How does Lily feel about this?' and 'How is she adapting?'. It was better than: 'Tell me her phone number!' and 'Does she have an Iron suit?'. That answer was always no. I did not elaborate and say that she actually had a suit of a gold-titanium alloy.

At lunch, I went home. My parents where there, throwing bags into a vehicle.

"Hi, Emma!" My mom said, slamming the top of the trunk closed on the car. "We are going far away from here for the weekend. I packed your clothes. Get in."

I hoped into the back seat and we drove off, looking for an escape from this chaos.

A.N. That was fun! I live in a small town and I know exactly what happens when one little rumor comes along. I can't imagine what would happen if something as big as that happened here. I hope I gave Emma's situation justice.


	16. Chapter 16

_Emma's P.O.V._

Although I bugged my parents about where we were going, they would not give in. I whined and pleaded the entire way to Bismarck, but they would not even give me a hint. I thought we might be tenting or something, where no one could find us, until we took that definite turn to the capital.

"Please?" I whined, the airport now in sight.

"Not yet." My dad said.

When we arrived, we grabbed our bags and went inside. My parents led me into a fairly short lineup. I looked up at the screen above the check-in area.

Los Angeles, California

"WE ARE GOING TO L.A.!" I screamed, jumping up and down.

"No, we are not." My mom answered. I froze in disappointment. "We are going to Malibu."

At that, I let out another scream and continued to jump up and down. People were staring now, but I didn't care. I was going to Malibu to see my best friend in the world.

"Mr. Stark wanted us to fly on his personal jet, but his girlfriend would not allow it. She said that it would attract too much attention." My dad said, cringing at the words 'personal jet'. He viewed it as enormously unfair that some people had so much money.

"That's okay." I said. "I'm going to see Lily!"

The flight to L.A. seemed like an eternity. My parents told me the plan for the weekend halfway there. We were all going to Stark Manor tonight for supper. I was going to stay for the next two nights, while my parents were staying in a 5 star resort which Tony had booked and paid for. The rest of the trip consisted on me fidgeting in anticipation. I was so excited when I started to see the city, as well as the ocean. It was the first time that I have ever seen a body of water larger than a lake. After debarking, we looked around for our ride. A bigger man with short black hair in a black suit came up to us.

"Is this the Johnsons?" The man asked.

"It is." My dad said.

"I'm Harold Hogan, Tony's chauffeur. He asked me to come pick you up."

"Great." My dad said.

Mr. Hogan smiled.

"Follow me."

Mr. Hogan grabbed our bags and led us to a sports car waiting outside. It was a brand new 2013 Audi A8L W12 with the licence plate STARK30. Mr. Hogan smiled.

"Tony said that I could drive whatever I wanted, so I took his baby."

We all got in and headed off towards Malibu. I was so excited that I was fidgeting the entire way. I was about to see my friend that I have not seen in real life for two weeks. I even missed her 17th birthday. Soon, we turned down the private driveway to Stark Manor. That place was huge! It was identical to the magazines that I had, but it was much more impressive in real life. My parents stared at it in awe. Right on cue, Tony Stark walked out the front door and waved at us. Mr. Hogan opened the doors for us and we climbed out. Tony came up and greeted us. He was wearing something much more modest than our first encounter: a pair of jeans and a shirt for some rock band.

"Welcome, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson. Hi, Emma. Come inside!" Tony said, opening the door and following us inside. The inside of his house was even more impressive than the outside if that was even possible.

"Do you want anything to drink? I know that travel can take a lot out of you. I'm having a scotch, but I have wine or, well, anything. "

"Water is fine." My mom said.

"I'll just have water too." My dad replied. I could tell that they were both quite nervous. It was not every day that you went into a billionaire's house.

"Oh, Emma? Lily is upstairs sleeping. I thought that I would give you the honour of waking her up. She doesn't know that were coming."

"Okay!"

"Her room is just up the stairs and the 4th door on the left."

I ran up the stairs that circled a glass waterfall. I counted and opened the forth door. I recognised Lily's room immediately form all the video chatting that we did. I stared at her sleeping form and considered my options. Making my decision, I ran and jumped on her bed.

"Lily! Wake up!" I said, shaking her.

She opened her eyes and stared for a second before a huge smile formed on her lips. She jumped up and hugged me.

"Your here!" She screamed.

"I'm here!" I said, equally excited.

She laughed and climbed off the bed.

"Come on, get dressed. My parents are downstairs and I think they are terrified of your dad."

"Your parents are here? I haven't seen them in forever either!"

Lily walked up to her huge closet and changed into a t-shirt and a pair of sweats.

"This is nothing too formal, right?"

"I hope not." I answered.

Lily smiled.

"Race you downstairs!" She yelled, pulling open her door and bolting before I could even process her words.

"Lily!" I called afterwards.

We both reached the living room at about the same time, because she stopped to tease me halfway down the stairs.

"Tom! Kaitlin!" Lily said, hugging my parents. It had taken them forever to get her to call them by their first names.

"Lily! It's so nice to see you!" I could see the obvious relief on their faces now that Lily and I returned. The same expression was on Tony's.

My parents continued to question Lily, until a British voice came out of nowhere.

"Mr. Stark? Miss Potts has arrived."

"Thanks, JARVIS." Tony replied. We all stared at him, looking for an explanation.

"That's JARVIS." Lily said. "My dad's A.I.. He runs the house."

"What is an A.I.?" My dad asked.

"It stands for artificial intelligence. It's basically a really smart computer. "Lily explained.

Just then, Pepper Potts came into the front door. She was holding a few boxes of pizza.

"Hi, everyone!" She said, smiling. "I said it was going to be nothing fancy, and I thought that I would treat everyone with the best pizza in all of L.A.

Pepper was not lying. It was absolutely delicious. Tony himself almost ate a whole box. We spent the rest of the evening just talking and having fun. My parents started to warm up to Lily's and vise versa. It was nice to see them actually converse. There were many times that evening where I just took a second to freak out internally. I was eating pizza in Iron Man's living room, with Iron Man, his girlfriend and his daughter, who happened to be my best friend.

It was almost 11 o'clock when my parents decided that they had to leave. Tony got Mr. Hogan (who he called Happy) to drive them.

"Take this." Tony said just as they were leaving the house. He had a credit card in his hand. "It's yours."

"I couldn't possibly-" My dad started, but Tony cut him off.

"No. You are taking it. I said that this was a completely expense free vacation for you, and I meant it. Get whatever you like. Treat yourself. You deserve it. You helped my daughter in a time when she really needed it and I will be eternally grateful for it. I was very grateful when someone did the same to me. Just try not to attempt to kill her for her company, okay? That's not very fun."

My dad smiled and accepted the card.

"Thank you so much." My mom said.

"My pleasure."

With that, my parents were gone.

"You two have to get to bed." Pepper said. "We have lots to do tomorrow."

"Okay. Goodnight." Lily yawned before hugging Pepper and her father.

"Come on." She said to me.

"Goodnight Pepper and Tony!" I said before following Lily.

"Goodnight!" They said in unison.

A.N. I thought that I would treat you all to two chapters today because I am gone for a few days. I can't wait to write more when I get home!


	17. Chapter 17

_Lily's P.O.V._

It was 10am when JARVIS woke Emma and I up the next morning. We had fallen asleep as soon as we had gotten changed. I don't think that we said more than two words to each other. I didn't think that the lack of sleep the night before and the interview exhausted me that much. How could my dad do that for so many years and not just collapse into a comma or something?

Emma woke up as soon as the light flooded the room.

"Lily? Lily?" She shook me. "Lily, your windows are untinting themselves."

"JARVIS!" I groaned. "We are trying to sleep! Why must you do this whenever I am exhausted?"

"Good morning Miss Stark and Miss Johnson. Miss Potts would like me to remind you that you only have one day together and you already slept through half of it. She advises you to not waste anymore."

"Where is she?"

"Miss Potts and Mr. Stark are currently drinking coffee on the back deck."

"Thanks, JARVIS."

"That thing is kind of handy... and creepy." Emma said.

"You get used to it." I replied, getting up and heading to my closet.

Ten minutes later, Emma and I went downstairs for breakfast. I made myself a bagel and Emma had toast. It was funny to think that we would do the same thing almost every weekend before I moved. I hadn't realised how much I missed sleepovers with her, even though we only missed two weeks. It was comforting to do something so normal in my new house.

"What do you want to do today?" I asked between bites.

"I don't know. What is there to do around here?" She answered.

"Like I know! You know more about Malibu than I do and I live here! That's actually kind of sad..."

"On whose's part? Hopefully you don't mean mine. It is perfectly fine to know things about touristy places. You are the one that just doesn't know anything about where they live. That's sad."

"Whatever. It doesn't matter. Using your expertise on the subject, what is the most fun thing to do in the Malibu -L.A. region?"

"I have no idea. Touristy places are sort of not an option, hey? With you being famous and everything." Emma joked. "Seriously though, they are a waste of time. There are so many people and nowhere to move!"

"Why don't we spend our day at the beach? My dad, Pepper and I went yesterday. It was lots of fun."

"Okay. I have never swam in an ocean before."

"Really? Then you are in for a treat!"

An hour later, Pepper, Emma and I were piling into my car. Pepper wouldn't let us go alone. It was less of an 'I don't trust you' thing and more of an 'I don't trust other people' thing.

"Wow!" Emma said in shock as she saw my car for the first time (I hid the suit. That was for later). "I thought that these things only had front seats!"

I shrugged.

"My dad customised it."

"Lily! He added an entire row of seats!"

"It would be terribly inconvenient without them." I said simply. If Emma is surprised that my dad had enough power (and money) to customize an Audi to have an extra row of seats, then she has a lot to learn. I caught on pretty quickly; whatever my dad wants, he gets.

Pepper drove down to the beach that we visited yesterday. Emma and I climbed out and set up our towels on the sand. Pepper pulled out an umbrella and a folding lawn chair from the trunk and sat down with her toes in the water.

"Race you in!" I screamed, running across the hot sand into the cool water. It was so refreshing to be back in the water. The ocean was by far my favourite part about living in Malibu.

"You always win! It's not fair!" Emma yelled, chasing me.

We swam for a good hour before it started to get cold and windy. Pepper almost lost her umbrella, but we managed to catch it on time. We laughed about how funny she looked, wearing a bathing suit, one flip-flop (she lost one somewhere in the chase) and a huge pair of sunglasses running after a rainbow umbrella flipping pole-to-top across the sand. Pepper pretended that she couldn't hear us until she gave in and laughed along. Getting Pepper to give in is a pretty big accomplishment. She always stands her ground.

My dad wasn't home when we got there. It was actually the first time that I had been home without him. I didn't think that he would ever leave the house. JARVIS informed us that he was out with 'Rhodey', whoever that was. I think he was the one that wrecked one of my dad's cars.

After Emma and I got changed, I brought her back down to the garage.

"Do you want to see my second birthday gift?" I asked when we were safely downstairs. I doubt that Pepper would approve of me playing with my suit when my dad wasn't around. I have worn it a few times since my birthday and I was getting better. I had no idea what she was so scared about.

I led Emma to the case that held my suit and lit it up. She gasped.

"It's beautiful!"

"I know! Do you want to see it on me?"

"YES!"

I walked passed my dad's suits to the assembly platform. I took note that my dad's suit was absent and that his car (more specifically the car that he prefers to drive) was still here. I frowned. I thought that he was hanging out with this 'Rhodey' guy. JARVIS wouldn't lie, would he?

I pushed those thoughts out of my mind.

"JARVIS? Suit me up. "

I was sort of natural to be suited up now. I trusted the machines more and grew more accustomed to having drills so close to my face.

I walked off the platform as soon as I was done. I flipped up my face plate and smiled at Emma.

"What do you think?" I spun around and posed in my best supermodel pose that I could make.

"It's fantastic! Can you fly?"

"Of course I can fly! I learnt to my first day! JARVIS? Can I fly at 3% thrust capacity, please?"

I felt the power below my hands and feet and before I knew it, I was standing in the air.

"That's awesome!" Emma exclaimed.

I flipped down the face plate and flew across the room, careful to avoid the cars. Emma followed me from the ground.

"I didn't think that he would get you one so soon." Emma said as I landed.

"Neither did I. I actually thought that I would never get one. It's not really something that most fathers give their daughters. It's not the safest thing in the world. One malfunction and I could fall to my death."

"It is pretty dangerous, but I imagine that it is worth it."

"Oh, it is."

I walked up to the podium and took off my suit. Just as Emma and I were about to reach the door to leave, I heard the familiar sound of the foot repulsors. It was louder than usual though. It was almost as though there were more than one person.


	18. Chapter 18

_Tony's P.O.V._

It was a hard mission that day. Rhodey and I hardly made it out alive. He really has to stop calling me for backup for his military stuff. I am an avenger, not a soldier. I had to explain that to Cap enough times.

Anyway, we were exhausted when we got back to my house. I knew that Pepper would be able to patch us up. She always does. I hate hospitals and I will avoid them at all costs. Seriously, who wants people they don't know poking at their bodies? Not me. Also, I don't want them fooling around with my reactor. One false move and that shrapnel is on a one way trip to my heart.

I flew into my garage and landed on the floor with a huge thump. I had dropped from way higher then I should have and left a significant mark on the floor. Rhodey landed next to me.

"Tony, you really have to watch where you land that thing. I am not spending another weekend fixing your floors!"

"Whatever, Rhodes." I sighed. He would help me, he always does.

"Dad?" Said a voice behind me that made me jump. I turned to the corner of the room where my daughter and her friend where standing. I flipped up my face plate.

"Hi, Lily and Emma. What are you doing down here?" I tried to sound as happy and uninjured as possible. This, however did not fool Lily. She is way too smart for her own good.

"Dad, are you alright? You don't look good. Is your nose bleeding?" Her voice was so full of concern and it just made my heart melt. What did I ever do without her? She made me so much happier just by being in the room.

"I'm fine, Lily. Why don't you and Emma go upstairs while Rhodey and I fix these things?"

She gave me a skeptical look.

"Fine. Have fun." She grabbed Emma's hand and pulled her upstairs.

Rhodey flipped up his face mask as soon as they left. I could see why he kept it down. He was in worse shape than I was.

"That's your daughter?" Rhodey asked, "She kind of looks like you, a little. She has your eyes and your charm. She could probably get every boy that she lays her eyes on. She lacks your confidence, though. She is more reserved."

"You got all of that from two seconds?"

"I'm good at reading people, Tony. That's how I have been able to deal with you all these years. I can tell when I need to back off so I don't die. Most people can't see that in you, which is why you can't work with anyone for over an hour without firing them."

"That's not true! I can work with Pepper!"

"Because she is one of the only person that you don't intimidate!"

"Who doesn't Tony intimidate?" Pepper said as she walked through the glass door. "What on Earth happened to you two? Get out of those suits right now. Lily didn't tell me it was that bad."

"Lily sent you down here?" I asked, kind of surprised.

"Yes, she was worried about you. James, you first. I need to check out that cut on your forehead. Isn't the point of these things so that you don't get hurt?"

"It was a hard night." Rhodey said simply before getting on the podium and removing his suit. Pepper led him to my desk chair and sat him down, pulling out a first aid kit from the bottom drawer. She tended to him while I removed my own suit. As I walked towards the couch in the corner, I looked over my own body. I was in the worst shape that I have been in for a while. Not since New York, most likely. That day I fell from space!

Pepper walked up to me and knelt on the floor by my feet.

"Tony, you know the press would have a field day if they ever saw these bruises. They would think I was beating you or something."

"It's part of the job, Pepper." I said, cringing as she disinfected by cuts. That was a good idea, considering I got them in an active war zone. It's a good thing that she patches me up. I would have never thought to do that.

"Well, get a new job. I told you this many times and I am going to tell you again. You are going to kill yourself, Tony. You also have your daughter to worry about now. How would she feel if both her parents died in the same year?"

"I would know exactly how she would feel." I answered. Memories of my parent's deaths flooded my mind like a tsunami. I tried to push them out, but I was too tired, both physically and mentally. I moved away from Pepper and laid on the couch, closing my eyes. I would never want to inflict that pain onto someone that I loved as much as Lily. I knew that she had felt it already and I saw what that did to her. The Johnsons told me so much about the bright and happy person that she used to be. With Emma here, she is more like that, but she still has that darkness in her eyes that just will not go away. I care about both Lily and Pepper, but I can't just stop being Iron Man. America expects me to be there to protect them, and I cannot let them down, no matter how much it may hurt the ones I love. I need to give back to the world.

Pepper moved over and ran her hand down the side of my face before resting her head on my chest.

"I'm sorry, Tony. I shouldn't have said that."

"It's okay." I said, feeling more exhausted than ever. "I just need to sleep. Rhodey, you can stay if you want. Help yourself to any guest room that you want, except for the first one facing the ocean. That room is Lily's now."

Rhodey got up and limped towards the door, obviously feeling awkward having to hear my conversation with Pepper. I got up and followed, with Pepper bringing up the rear.

Even though it was not even 6 yet, it was dark in my room. I loved having JARVIS be able to tint my windows. I changed into my pajamas and crawled into the warm blankets. Pepper laid down next to me.

"Tony, I'm sorry that I brought that up. I know that you need to protect America. I just wanted to make you aware of what it was doing to your family. It's not just you that is hurting when you have all these scrapes and bruised. Lily and I are too."

"I'm sorry. I just need to do what is right."

"I know you do. You have a heart." Pepper's hand pressed against my chest, right on top of my arc reactor. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close.

"I love you, Pepper."

"I love you too, Tony."

We laid like that for a while and I started to drift to sleep. I felt Pepper move beside me.

"Don't leave me." I groaned.

"I have to feed the girls."

"JARVIS?"

"Yes, Mr. Stark?" My A.I. answered.

"Get Happy to pick Lily and Emma up something for supper."

"As you wish."

"There." I said to Pepper. "You can stay."

"That's not Happy's job. I should-"

"You are staying with me. I need you." I whispered the last three words. I have never meant them this much in my life. I needed someone to love me, to comfort me and to care for me. I felt like a child in need of his parents. This mission destroyed me and I have never needed someone to be near me so much in my life. I prided myself on being able to do things alone. I had been doing things alone my whole life. It wasn't until I met Pepper that I realised that I was actually just getting by. I never knew that I needed human companionship until her second day on the job when she nursed me for my horrid hangover. I never knew what I was missing until I actually felt it. It was love. I never had much parental love, or any love for that matter. I had been raised into the same heartless person that my father was. Ten minutes of rubbing my back as I puked into the toilet changed that. I had experienced the feeling of being cared for, and I was never letting that go. When Pepper became my girlfriend, I felt as though I was living for the first time. I had a life that everyone was meant to experience. Every second of the day, I was certain that someone loved me. It was as though I was living in a dream. I came home to a warm house full of laughter, not the empty and cold one where I had lived my whole life. With Lily's arrival, it is even more full. I have an actual family.

"I need you too, Tony." Pepper whispered. Together, we drifted off to sleep.


	19. Chapter 19

_Lily's P.O.V._

"Miss Stark? It's 11am. Miss Potts requested that you be downstairs for lunch in half an hour. Miss Johnson must be at the airport in L.A. by 2." JARVIS said, waking me up. Emma and I stayed up until 1 last night just talking and watching various movies. I rolled over and shook my friend.

"Emma? Come on, it's 11. We slept in."

Emma groaned and sat up, stretching.

"Do I have to go home? Can't I just live here?"

"I wish that you could, but I am pretty sure your parents would not be too pleased."

"No, they love me too much. Maybe they would move here."

"I doubt it. Your parents aren't really suited for the west coast life."

"They're not."

Laughing, I got up and ready. Just as planned, Emma and I went downstairs by 11:30. Pepper was not the only one in the dining room, though. My dad was also there, both of Emma's parents as well as someone that I never met.

"Morning!" My dad said as we walked in. "Rhodey cooked! I didn't know that he could cook! We have pancakes, eggs, sausages and toast!"

"Tony, just because you can't cook doesn't mean that I can't. I can do things that you can't!" The man who I assumed to be Rhodey joked.

"Whatever, Rhodey." My dad turned to Emma and I, "What are you two waiting for? Grab a bite!"

Emma sat down beside her parents, leaving me to sit next to Rhodey.

"Hi, Lily. I'm James Rhodes. I was your dad's roommate at MIT. I've been his friend ever since."

"Hi. It's nice to meet you." I answered, smiling politely. He was the War Machine. He was the only other person other than me that my dad built a suit for.

"So, Lily," Emma's mom began, "I was wondering if you and your family wanted to come back home next weekend for the annual start of May picnic."

The start of May picnic was by far my favourite part if the spring. The whole town got together and had a huge potluck lunch followed my tons of activities.

"Can I go, Dad? Please?" I asked excitingly.

My dad smiled. He had obviously discussed this with Emma's parents before I arrived.

"I don't know..." He said, pretending to consider my request.

"Dad..." I whined.

"Fine, but under one condition."

"Which is?"

"Pepper and I come."

I thought about that for a moment. My dad and Pepper would draw tons of attention at an event like this. It would be nice, however, to have the attention taken off of me for once. This would also give them a chance to meet people from my old life, not that I really associated with anyone. It would also be nice to do something as a family that did not involve suits and dresses as every single other even that we have been invited to over the last few weeks. Only my dad could get invites to 10 different parties on the same night. That's just ridiculous.

"Deal." I smiled. Next weekend would be just the escape that I needed after my first week of university.

"Great!" Emma's mom said. "You can all stay at our house, it you want. The nearest hotel is half an hour away and it isn't all that nice. I might not even want to stay there."

Emma's dad smile faltered. He still seemed intimidated by my dad. It was strange to see him like that. He was usually the one intimidating others.

"We would be honoured to stay at your house, if you're sure that's alright." Pepper said. She didn't miss Mr. Johnson's expression either.

"That's perfectly alright! I wouldn't have offered if it wasn't, right Tom?"

"Right. Of course it's okay." Emma's dad said, but I could tell by his face that he wasn't sure.

My dad didn't seem fazed by that one bit.

"Great! It will be fun to meet everyone from your town. You have all seen my world, now it's about time that I have seen yours."

At 1:00, everyone was getting ready to leave. My dad and I were going to take Emma and her parents to the airport as there was not enough room for everyone. Emma, her mom and I sat in the back of my dad's Audi and her dad joined mine in the front. Emma's dad didn't seem too pleased with the arrangements. I really don't know why he hated my dad so much. He just paid for his entire 2 day vacation to Los Angeles! You would think that you would like someone if they did that for you.

When we arrived, we said our goodbyes. It was not as hard as I expected it to be. I guess that being able to see them next weekend helped quite a bit. After they checked in their bags, my dad and I got back into the vehicle. It was not long until we stopped again. Surprised, I looked up at the store. It was Staples.

"Staples?" I asked. Since when did my dad get his own office supplies?

"You have to get stuff for University tomorrow, or has that slipped your mind?"

In all honesty, I had completely forgotten that I was going to school again. All the nerves that I was feeling before Emma arrived came back.

"No, I remembered." I lied.

"Well, come on then." My dad said as he climbed out of the vehicle. "I don't know what you need."

I followed my dad into the store. A few heads turned at our arrival, but they were all smart enough to keep a distance.

"Lead the way." My dad said. I walked about the store grabbing every school supply that I might need. Pencils, pens, markers, binders and so much other stuff started to fill the cart. My dad wandered around behind me like a stray dog.

"This is everything, I think." I said after a good half hour of shopping. The cart was nearly full. I would rather be over prepared then under prepared.

"Okay. Let's go." We walked to the cash register and my dad paid for the supplies. The girl working there kept staring at us like we were aliens. It was so strange. My dad completely ignored it, but it was weird to be looked at like that by someone your own age.

On the way home, my dad drove. He blasted AC-DC and drove twice the speed limit. It was terrifying. You would think that after both his parents dies in a car accident, we would be careful, but no. Careful was not in my dad's vocabulary. He lived in the moment and suffered the consequences later. I liked that about him. My mom used to take years to decide anything, weighing the pros and cons. My dad does everything in the spur of the moment. Pepper is the only one who can stop him. It was kind of funny, actually. My dad would stand up to anyone, except Pepper. She must just terrify him.

When we got home, I went straight to my room. I dumped my bags on my floor and started to organise. That was my favourite part of every school year. It was so familiar to me. By the time that supper was ready, I was prepared for tomorrow, no matter what happened. I just really hoped that I would meet someone who I could be friends with, not for my money, but for me. Maybe I would find someone who was as good to me as Rhodey was, and still is to my dad. I can dream, right?


	20. Chapter 20

_Lily's P.O.V._

I was very nervous my first day of university at UCLA. My dad came out to L.A. with me in the morning to get me registered for all my classes. The end of April is not the best time to start, but my dad convinced them that he could teach me everything that was covered already in the course. Looking over the course outline, I realized that he already had. It helped, of course, that I did take some advanced engineering courses back in North Dakota and that they were the only classes that I didn't sleep through. By lunch, I basically knew my way around the university.

"I can't believe I am starting University already!" I said, stuffing my face with fries from the on-site McDonald's.

"Lots of people start University at 17." My dad answered, devouring a cheeseburger. He must really love those things. He eats them all the time.

"Yes, but towards the end of 17, not a week after their birthday."

"Okay, fine. You are young by University standards. As for Stark standards, you're ancient."

I swatted him from across the table.

"Come on, that's just because I was stuck in North Dakota and didn't want to leave Emma."

"Well, now you left her anyways."

"At least I get to go home every night. I don't think that I am ready to move out yet."

"I basically moved out at 7. That was when I was sent to my first boarding school."

"7? Isn't that a little young?"

"Yes, that is young. My parents got rid of me as soon as they could."

I didn't know what to say, so I stared at the McChicken that I was eating.

"Well, I better be off." My dad said getting up. "Are you sure that you won't get lost getting to your next class?"

"I'm sure, Dad."

He walked around the table and gave me a hug.

"I'm going to work, but don't be afraid to call me for anything. Happy is going to stay around this area to help you if you need to escape from the press or anything like that. You should be fine here, but just in case. I will come as soon as I can if anything happens. You know how fast those suits of ours can fly."

He winked and walked away.

"Bye, Lily!"

I walked into my first class about 20 minutes early as I had nothing better to do. I took a seat at an empty chair in the middle of the room and set up my laptop. I stuck on my Bluetooth headset and whispered into it.

"JARVIS, you there?"

"At your service." said a voice in my right ear.

"We are going into typed command mode, okay?"

"As you wish."

An empty text window appeared in the corner of my screen. Now I could control the A.I. without actually speaking out loud. I still had tons of time before class, so I popped up a game of chess.

"That's a nice laptop." A male voice said from beside me. I looked up at him. He was gorgeous. He had light blond hair that was not too short or too long, cheerful gray eyes and a perfect complexion.

"Thanks." I answered. I glanced at the clock in the corner of the screen. There was 5 minutes until class started. The room was nearly full. I closed the down my game and opened Microsoft Word.

"Is it a Stark computer? It looks like one."

"Yep."

"Wow. Those are nice."

I looked at his laptop, which was pretty sleek as well.

"Yours is nice, too."

"I don't know. It's a Windows 8 Acer. Nothing special."

Just then, professor walked into the room. I got JARVIS to listen and type everything that he said. Today's lesson was on some basic robotics stuff that I had already covered with my dad.

"Now class," My professor said, pulling me out of my daydream, "you are going to put all of these elements of robotics to work. For the rest of the year, this class will be practical. Today, you have unknowingly decided your partners. Seats with odd numbers, look to your left, even numbers, your right. Those are your partners. I glanced at my seat number. It was 156. I smiled. To my right was the cute boy who commented on my laptop.

"Thank you all for coming. Class is dismissed."

I shut down my laptop and put it in my bag.

"I guess that we are partners then." The boy said.

"Yep. "

"You must really like one word answers. My name is Alex. Alex Fisher."

I didn't know what else to do, but tell him my name. If we were going to work together for the rest of the semester.

"Hi, Alex. I'm Lily Stark."

He stared at me for a second, before smiling.

"Nice to meet you, Lily. Is this your only class this afternoon?"

"Yes." My dad insisted on giving me a light schedule for my first semester.

"Awesome! I had a really cool idea for our robot, but I didn't know if we could get it all done in class time. We could always work after class if we needed too."

"That would be awesome!" I said, smiling. "The more complex, the better."

"I agree. I have to go. I'm meeting some friends. Want to join us?"

"Maybe another time, I have to get back home and do a few things." I lied. As much as I wanted to make friends, I still wasn't too sure about him yet.

"Okay. Well, see you tomorrow."

"Bye!"

I finished packing away my stuff and headed out to my car. There was a piece of paper stuck in under the wiper. I picked it up, recognising the awful writing.

_Lily,_

_I just wanted to be the first to congratulate you on your first day at university. JARVIS beat me to it on your birthday, so this is sort of revenge. Pepper said that it would be her because she will be at home when you get there, but I outsmarted her! I am very proud of you, Lily. You did something that not many other people your age can do. You moved across the country to live with a parent who you have never met before and enrolled at a university two weeks later. I envy your courage. Everybody should. I work with the avengers and you are still one of the most courageous people that I know. You are right up there with Steve (Captain America). I should take you to New York to meet them all sometime. Stark Tower has kind of unofficially become Avengers Tower. It's kind of our central hub thingy. Anyway, you would love Banner. He's fun to tease, as long as you don't go too far. He's not the guy you want to make angry. He is also extremely smart. He works in the R&D floors of the tower now. How did I get this off topic? I was just writing about universities, like, half a paper ago. Back to that, I know that you will do fine. You will have tons of pressure on you, I can guaranty you that. I always had pressure on me through university and the rest of my life. People wanted me to become my father. They expected me to have the same skill set and to act the same way. By doing that, they morphed me into him. Before Afghanistan, I was my father. Iron Man changed that and gave me a whole new outlook on life. I don't want you to have to be kidnapped to realize what I did. You are not me, Lily. I do not expect or even remotely want you to be me. I want you to be you. Be who you want to be. If this means dropping all your physics and engineering classes and doing an English major instead, do it. Don't be pressured into doing things by others because I did them. I really hope that I didn't need to tell you that and you chose engineering on your own. You have a real gift in it. You haven't started university and you already impress me with your knowledge. You have a very bright future, Lily, and I am very proud of everything that you have accomplished. Be true to yourself and remember that Pepper and I will be happy no matter what you decide to do. I love you so much, Lily. Thank you for being the light of my world._

_Dad_

After reading that, I sat down in my car and cried. That was the most heartfelt thing that I had read in my life and it was for me from my dad. My dad was not the type of person to do that, so it made the letter that much more meaningful. One year ago, all I felt was hate towards the person who was my father. In that letter, he told me he that I was the light of his world. You know what? He was the light of mine too.

A.N. An incomplete version of this chapter has been sitting in my folder for so long and I just couldn't wait to get it posted! I hope that you all enjoyed it.


	21. Chapter 21

_Lily's P.O.V._

As my dad predicted, Pepper was home when I arrived. I parked my car in the garage and ran upstairs.

"Hey, Lily! How was your day?" asked Pepper. She was in the process of baking a batch of cupcakes.

"Pretty good. How about yours?" I took a seat at one of the stools around the island.

"Not bad. I had a dentist appointment at 2:00, so I took the rest of the day off. I deserve it. Your father's job is unbelievably stressful, which is why he hired me to take some of it off his shoulders. For the last two weeks I had to do both his and my job. It was torture!"

"Running a company does seem like a lot of work."

"It is! We are so backed up in paperwork that I couldn't sign that it is not even funny. You should have seen your dad's face when he walked into his office and saw two stacks of paper almost to the roof. It was priceless!"

I giggled. I could imagine that very clearly.

"I got his secretary to make sure that he stays until at least 6:00 to get those done. After that, he has to work on the arc reactor for the new tower that we are building in Vegas. It will be the second tower of its kind; completely self-sustaining. I want to name it Potts Tower, but I doubt that your dad will give in. It will most likely be Stark Tower Number 2 or something equally ridiculous."

I watched as Pepper put the batch of cupcakes into the oven and started measuring for another one.

"What are you making these cupcakes for anyways?" I asked. Pepper never baked, or at least not in the two weeks that I have been here. She cooked, but never baked.

"I'm making them for the potluck lunch on Saturday. Kaitlin informed me that you and your mother always brought desert for everyone. I wanted to follow tradition."

"You know my mom was a baker, right? She made deserts for a living."

My mom usually made 12 dozen cupcakes each year for the lunch. At the pace that Pepper was going, it would take all year.

"So? I made deserts all the time, before I started to work for your dad. That was back when I actually had a life outside of work."

"Pepper, I don't want to criticize your cooking or anything, but you will never get these done if you are that slow."

"Then help me! Here!" Pepper pushed a huge container of icing sugar towards me. "You get the honour of icing them."

Four hours later, we had successfully baked 13 dozen cupcakes (we had to keep one for ourselves) as well a frozen lasagna for supper. We didn't even take time to eat it. We just sort of kept on going. After we finished cleaning the disaster that we created in the kitchen, we moved to the couch to relax and watch TV.

I'm not even sure how many episodes of How I Met Your Mother that we watched in a row before my Dad came home. It was very late, though. Actually, considering I had to be in class by 9am the next day, I should have been in bed.

"Pepper, Lily? I'm home!" I heard from the basement. My dad ran up the steps and stood beside the TV, removing his tie.

"Hey, Tony." Pepper said, smiling. "You will never guess what Lily and I did today."

"What? Besides watching How I Met Your Mother. Turn that off. That show is awful."

"No, it's not!" I said.

'Yes it is! There is no action whatsoever! Anyways, what was it that you two did without my knowledge. Did you go somewhere? If you went somewhere fun and didn't take me along with you -"

"We baked, Tony." sighed Pepper, cutting off my dad. Good thing, too. He could have most likely gone on for hours about how mad he would have been if we did something fun while he actually worked.

"Baked? Since when do you bake?"

"Since I was, I don't know, 10?"

"What did you make me?"

"Nothing."

"What do you mean 'nothing'?"

"We baked for the potluck lunch on Saturday." I cut in.

"Twelve dozen cupcakes." Pepper added.

"And you made none for me?"

"Well, if you really want one that bad..." Pepper teased.

"Where are they?" My dad questioned, walking towards the kitchen.

"In the container on the counter." Pepper called after him before turning to me. "I thought about hiding them, but he might have torn the house apart in the search."

I giggled. My dad walked back in with a half eaten cupcake.

"What are you laughing at? Actually, I don't care. These are so good!" He sat down on one of the chairs and finished the rest in one bite.

"Don't eat the ones in the freezer. Those are for this weekend. If you eat them, you are making the replacements and I will make you keep trying until I think they are good enough." Pepper threatened, smiling.

"Okay, okay! I won't eat the frozen ones. You don't have to threaten me with baking! I would be in there for the rest of my life!" My dad reached over and grabbed the remote. He switched back from DVD to Satellite mode and started to flip through the channels. He found a NASCAR race and turned it on.

"How was your dad, Lily?" He asked, not taking his eyes off the vehicles.

"Great. I knew everything that was taught already. We are starting paired projects tomorrow."

"Sounds like fun. Just don't show up your partner. You are most likely much smarter than them, being a Stark and all, but they may not appreciate it. I'm certain that you could build a machine right now that rivals a fifth-year student, but please keep it to a 1st year standard. It's not great to draw more attention to yourself just yet. That's why I built Dummy. By that time, I had a pretty good foundation on JARVIS, but it would not have been wise to tell the world that I made my own A.I. at 17. So, I created Dummy and put him as my final project. He impressed quite a few people, even if he was not my best work. My advice, do a great 1st year project, but don't go too above and beyond. Make it good enough to wow you teachers, but not too good, if you know what I mean."

I sifted through his speech for the key points. My dad sure liked to ramble.

"I get it."

"Good. I don't want even more attention to be drawn to you yet. We still kind of have this under control."

I wasn't exactly sure what he meant by that, but I just assumed that he meant the press.

"Well, goodnight." I said, yawning.

"Goodnight, Lily." My dad and Pepper said together as I hiked up the stairs to my room. Ten minutes later, I was tucked into my heated sheets and drifting off to sleep.

A.N. I have two tests this week (one in Chemistry and one in History), so I am very sorry if I can't update until this weekend. I will as soon as I get the chance!


	22. Chapter 22

_Lily's P.O.V._

My week went by quite quickly. Before I knew it, it was Friday and Alex and I were still in the process of planning our simple robot. It was going to be a hovercraft, something that some high school students could manage, but with a twist. We were going to attempt to make it voice activated. My dad was sort of frustrated when I told him. I guess that voice activated floating robots are more advanced than he would like. But, as I told him, it was not my idea. Alex thought of it all on his own. It has been his dream for a while, or so he told me. Do you know where he got the inspiration from? Doctor Who. He wanted to build a Dalek. I had to Google what that was. I had never heard of them in my life. British Sci-Fi just wasn't my thing, I guess. We made a compromise. We could make a voice activated robot that looked like a Dalek, as long as it could not shoot lasers, suck people's faces with the plunger thingy or talk. The talking was a big one. That is a little too much past the line my dad drew and I didn't want to go any further than I did. I was already pushing it.

"Lily? Are you even listening to a word I'm saying?" Alex said, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Sorry, Alex. I guess that I kind of zoned out."

"Stop it, then. We have a lot to do before the weekend. As I was saying, in order for the machine to move while float-"

Alex was my only friend at UCLA. After Monday, he had never invited me to hang out with his friends again. It was always just him and I. I didn't mind that at all. He was so nice, smart and handsome. I could stare at him for hours. That's not too weird is it? He's my friend. I still didn't know if I wanted him to be any more than that. I had never had a boyfriend before. Actually, I'm not sure that any of the boys at my old school even knew my name. Dating was always at the bottom of my priority list. Now, with Alex in the picture, I'm not too sure.

"What do you think?" Alex finished.

"That should work fine!" I lied. I really hadn't heard anything from his spiel. With his knowledge, I'm sure that it would work.

"Great! So, over the weekend, make your list of supplies for all the electrical components, including the computer parts. I will get all the other stuff and all the plans done so that we can get this thing approved. Maybe we could even start building it next week!"

"Sounds great!" I said, powering down my laptop and sticking it, along with about a million papers into my bag. I needed to organise. Our assigned workspace was a disaster zone. I need to take some lessons from my dad. His workshop is impeccable.

"I have to go and meet up with some friends to see a movie. Have fun this weekend at that community picnic that you have."

"I will. Bye, Alex."

"Bye, Lily."

I left the engineering building and walked towards one of the outdoor seating areas, the same one that my dad and I ate at on Monday. Pepper and him were going to meet me here on the way to Stark Industries to catch our flight. I guess that we weren't really catching our flight. It would only leave when my dad said the word, being that it was his plane and all that.

Fifteen minutes later, I heard them coming down the sidewalk. I could recognise their sound from a mile away. There was the clicking of Pepper's heels, the tapping of my dad's dress shoes and, of course, my dad's constant muttering about either something that he didn't like or something that he wanted to build.

I turned around to face them. Actually, every single person on campus turned to face them. They were both so charismatic, unlike myself. I could be on every single TV in the country and people wouldn't even glance at me if I walked down the street because I don't try and draw attention to myself. Pepper and my dad are my polar opposite. As soon as they step into a room, ever eye turns to them, and they love it. They embrace it. It's so strange. I don't understand how anyone could live like that.

"Hey, Lily!" My dad said as he reached me. "Ready to go?"

"Yep!" I reached down and grabbed my bag.

"If we stay on schedule," Pepper said, glaring at my dad. "We will be at the Johnson's house by 8 tonight, their time. That means that we still have a few hours before or plane leaves. We could have left earlier, but I really didn't want to make the Johnsons come home from work early to meet us. So, Lily, you are going to the R&D department with your dad, while I do some paperwork, okay?

"Sounds great!" I answered. This was the first time that I would be going into Stark Industries, the empire that I might one day own.

"Let's go, then!" My dad said, walking down the sidewalk to the parking lot.

Walking into the R&D department was like my biggest dream coming true. There were so many people working on so many projects that would one day revolutionize our world. It was so strange to see so many people like me in one place. It was like at University, but better. This was an actual job. I could finally see how people could make money doing what I love. It was really eye opening. I didn't want to run a billion dollar empire. I wanted to work here. By the smile on my dad's face as he walked through the doors and gazed around, I could tell that he felt the same.

"Come on!" He led me through the maze of machines and tools right to a door at the back of the room. He scanned his identification card under the scanner and led me inside.

"This is it!" I huge donut-shaped arc reactor sat in the middle of the room. "This is the newest model. No one knows how it works but me, and soon to be you. This one is totally different than the one powering this place because it is based on this one." My dad pointed to the arc reactor glowing in his chest. "My original reactor almost killed me. I was dying of palladium poisoning. None of the other elements served as a viable replacement, so I made my own."

"You made your own element?" I'm not sure if I was more shocked about that or the fact that he was dying and the whole world didn't know about it.

"Yep. No one knows about it, other than you, Pepper, Happy, S.H.I.E.L.D. and I. Don't go telling everyone, okay? That could be very dangerous in the wrong hands."

"So you created an element, just like that?" I said, snapping my fingers.

"Pretty much. It took me an afternoon. Most of that time was spent drilling holes through walls, though. It didn't matter. I was on a sort of house arrest, if you wanted to call it that. I had S.H.I.E.L.D. on my back the whole time. I couldn't even use a phone. I was ridiculous! It gave me more time to think, I guess."

"You were under house arrest? Why? Also, what is S.H.I.E.L.D.?" It was very rare to have my dad to myself, especially when he wasn't making a joke out of everything. I had to use this time to my advantage. I knew nothing about him. I basically only knew the tiny snippets of life that he told me. I had to Google him to know my own family history.

"I got drunk and almost blew up my house. Actually, it was more than that. I refused to give up my armour to the government and then I got drunk and almost blew up my house using it. S.H.I.E.L.D. is the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. My dad, your grandpa, was one of the founding members. It's an intelligence agency. Not that intelligent, mind you. I got JARVIS to hack their systems quite easily last year. They are the people who co-ordinate the Avengers Initiative."

"So, you kind of work for them?"

"I don't even know. I am, or was, their consultant. I was sent when they wanted someone to screw something up. I once got General Ross, a military officer who was involved in the creation of the Hulk, try to kick me out of a bar!"

"And?"

My dad shrugged.

"I bought it and tore it down."

That was my dad. He can buy his way out of everything.

"Do all the Avengers do other stuff like that?"

"Not really. Banner was supposed to be just a scientist tracking the tessaract, but, well, that didn't really stay the case. Also, Natasha and Clint, the Black Widow and Hawkeye as you would know them, are both agents. They worked for S.H.I.E.l.D. before the Avengers. Actually, Natasha went undercover here. She said that I wasn't suited for the Avengers. That's why I was a consultant." My dad laughed. "As soon as they had a threat, they came straight for me. A little ironic, don't you think?"

"A little." I walked around the huge reactor, amazed at its mere existence.

"If you like this one, you should see the one in New York. That one operates underwater. This is just going into a basement. It's not too special."

"It's beautiful."

"My dad designed it. I just edited it. Here, these are the plans. I was hoping to get section B done today. Grab that soldering gun. You are going to make this." He pointed to a part of the blue print. "Don't worry, you can do it. I am going to finish the part here." He pointed to another section. "Also, don't get dirty. Pepper would kill be. We are leaving right after this and all our luggage is already under the plane. What you are wearing is what you will be wearing to the Johnsons."

I glanced at his custom designer suit. The Johnsons are not going to like that.

A few hours later, my dad and I were assembling the parts when Pepper walked in.

"Come on, you too. Plane leaves in 10 minutes." She scanned both of us for even a mere hint of oil or dirt. She smiled. We had obviously met her approval.

My dad gently put all the tools back in their respective drawers and left the room as perfectly neat as when we entered.

"Come on, Lily. Let's go."

A.N. That was fun! I missed writing! All of Thursday evening I had to force myself to study. I started this Friday, but I didn't get it done because my friend invited me over. Anyway, here it is! Also, my friends have recently convinced me to watch Doctor Who. It is the greatest show ever! In honour of it, I thought that I might as well give it a little shout out. Right from the beginning, I wanted them to make a hovercraft and the Dalek suited it perfectly. Also, the whole consultant thing was from the Marvel one-shot called "The Consultant." It's on Youtube if you haven't seen it. It's fantastic! Bye for now!


	23. Chapter 23

_Tony's P.O.V._

It was exactly 8:00 when we arrived at the Johnson's house. The whole ride, I watched as Lily's smile grew and grew. I knew what was like being able to see your best friend again after not seeing them for a while. The smile on her face made the torture that I was about to endure worth it.

Tom Johnson hated me. I have really no idea why. It seemed as though he was incapable of liking me. It was the whole Steve Rogers thing all over again, except this time I was actually trying to get this relationship to work for Lily. Steve and I sorted things out in the end, but it's not like Tom and I have aliens running around everywhere to fight together and unite us. I would have to find another way to get him to not hate me.

I parked my Audi that we flew in from Malibu on the gravel driveway. My baby would have to stay the night outside. At least I remembered to bring its cover. I hated the idea of a car staying where it could rain, or get hit by flying rocks, or maybe even branches if it's windy.

My family got out of the car and grabbed our bags, watching as I fixed up the car for the night.

"Come on, Tony. Your car is going to be fine. Everyone leaves their cars outside. It's not going to fall apart after one night." Pepper said impatiently. I clicked the last buckle on the custom cover, grabbed my suitcase and walked up to the door.

Lily rang the doorbell. I could hear people walking around inside. Finally the door opened. It was Kaitlin. Good thing. Tom would probably not have let me in the house.

"Lily! Tony! Pepper! It's great to see you! Come in!" Kaitlin moved away from the door and ushered us inside.

The Johnson's house was medium size. It wasn't small by any means, but it wasn't overly large either. It had a very warm country feel to it, which was very different than my cold and modern mansion. I kind of liked it. It felt like a real family home.

"This is a beautiful house." I said, looking at the wall full of pictures above the stairs leading to the second floor.

"Thank you. Lily, Emma is just finishing her homework in her room if you wanted to see her. You will be staying in her room, so you might as well bring up your stuff."

"Thanks, Kaitlin." Lily answered before heading up the stairs. Okay, now it's just Pepper and I left. We can do this.

"Do you want to bring your bags to your room? You will be staying in the spare room downstairs." Kaitlin said to Pepper and I.

"Sure." Pepper replied, heading towards the stairs. "Wait, where's Tom?"

"Oh, he is in his garage as usual. Most likely fooling around with that old car of his. He wants to restore it."

That's interesting. Tom likes restoring cars and yet he doesn't like me.

"Why don't you go and see him, Tony?" Pepper said, glaring at me.

"Umm... okay." I replied. I wasn't going to fight with her in front of Kaitlin. Pepper always knew how to get me to do what she wants.

I put back on my shoes and headed out towards the detached garage, mumbling under my breath about how much I didn't want to be there. I loved Lily so much and I would do anything for her. She is the only reason that I am trying to be civil to this man. He makes me so frustrated.

I knocked on the garage door before pulling it open.

"Hello?" I called inside. "Tom?"

"Hello." A voice said from underneath the old car sitting in the middle of the room. That thing was a mess. It wasn't worth restoring. I couldn't even recognize the model.

Tom rolled out from underneath.

"Oh, it's you." He sounded almost disappointed.

"Yep. It's me. I was sent here by my girlfriend. Apparently, this is more 'my thing' then unpacking. What are you doing?"

"I was trying to figure out what was wrong with the axel. The front wheels wouldn't turn when we pulled it in here. It's too bent to use."

"Mind if I take a look?" I asked. I was terrified to see what kind of disaster was under that thing. It looked like it was rotting in a field for a few decades.

"Sure." He said getting up. He looked at me head to toe and frowned. Of course. I was still wearing my suit from the board meeting this morning. I must look ridiculous crawling under a vehicle with this on.

I laid down on the creeper and pulled myself underneath.

"Tom, this is a disaster." I said. I heard him sigh.

"I know. I was hoping that I could get it fixed up for Emma. She wants a car so badly."

"You would need new parts for everything down here. Also, you will have to install airbags. I'm pretty sure it doesn't have any."

"It would be better to buy a new one, hey?"

I wasn't sure if he was being honest or teasing me.

"Well, it would cost less. These parts are rare." I rolled out and got up. "I would advise getting a different vehicle. It doesn't have to be new."

"Well, if the master engineer says so, then that's what I will do." He walked away from me and pulled off his gloves, placing them onto a tool chest.

I didn't even know how to reply to that one.

"Why do you hate me, Tom?" I asked straight out.

He sighed.

"I don't hate you, Tony."

"Then why do you act so cold towards me? Look, it's not because I really care. A lot of people hate me. It's just that I'm trying to get this to work for Lily. She needs us to get along. So whatever it is you hate me for, either tell me or forget about it."

"Okay, here it is. I have always been Lily's father figure because you were never there for her. She would cry over you, Tony, and I would be the one to comfort her. Emma and Lily were basically sisters and I loved them both the same. They were inseparable. When Jackie died, Lily was destroyed. Kaitlin and I were left to pick up the pieces. Then, all of a sudden, you show up and take her away to a world of indoor swimming pools and iron suits. She video calls with Emma and tells her about all the fantastic things that she has and that she has learnt. I know that I can never give my daughter these things and it breaks my heart. So, why do I dislike you, Tony? I dislike you because I am jealous of you. You took a young girl who I loved like a daughter and gave her things that I could only dream of treating my own with."

I stared at him for a second, allowing his angered speech to sink in. I felt so guilty, even though I really had no reason to. Lily was my daughter and I was doing that I could so that she could have the best life that she could. It's not my fault that Tom and Jackie don't feel that they can do the same.

"Tom, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I took my daughter away from you. I'm sorry that you feel that you are not giving your daughter the best in life. I will tell you a secret. I am jealous of you, too. I may have money and resources, but you have parenting skills. As you said, you helped in raising my daughter, something that I would die to do. Also, you know how to raise a child. My childhood was seriously lacking in the parenting area. My dad worked all the time and didn't give a care about me. He never told me loved me, or even that he liked me. My mom was always too busy for me too, but at least she had the decency to tuck me in at night when she was home. I was basically raised by my butler, Jarvis. I have no idea what a good parent is supposed to be like. I am basically just doing what I wished my parents would have done for me. So, there. Are we good now?"

He stared at me for a second before looking down at his feet.

"Yeah, we're good."

"Great. Now that we are on good terms, let's see about this car."

It was midnight when we returned to the house. Tom decided that he would buy a new(er) car, but would salvage anything from this one that he could and sell in for a profit. We spent all that time dismantling, testing and fixing.

Pepper was still up when I walked into the bedroom.

"How did it go?"

"Great. We are on good terms now."

"That's good. Tony! What did you do to your suit?" Pepper yelped when she turned on the lamp. She was right. It was ruined. Oh, well. Getting on Tom's good side for Lily was worth it.

"It's just grease, Potts."

She sighed.

"Just have a shower, Tony."

Ten minutes later, I crawled into the bed next to her. It was strange to be in a double instead of our usual king size.

"Wow, Pepper. I feel so close to you." I said, wrapping my arm around her waist, pulling her right beside me. He back pressed against my chest and the glow from the arc reactor lighting the room disappeared.

"I know the bed is small, but we have to get up early tomorrow, so goodnight."

I felt Pepper fall asleep next to me. I couldn't though, not after what happened in the garage. I can't believe I just poured my heart out to someone I had only met three times. Also, since when was he Lily's father figure? She had never even mentioned this before. There was still so much that I didn't know about my daughter and it killed me. I should know everything about her and she should know everything about me. It isn't fair for either of us to live not truly knowing the other. We have to get to know each other and I have to put in a conscious effort to make it happen. With that goal in mind, I fell asleep.


	24. Chapter 24

_Tony's P.O.V._

"Tony, for the last time, GET UP!" Pepper yelled. I pulled off the sheets and stretched.

"What time is it?"

"It's 8:00. We have an hour before we have to leave to help set up."

"An hour? Good. Wake me up in 45 minutes."

"No, Tony. You are getting up and you are going to help us. The cupcakes are already thawing, so that's taken care of. You are going to help Tom and the rest of the set up comity."

"Do I have to?" I whined.

"Yes. Come on. Get up!"

Pepper left the room and went upstairs. Fifteen minutes later, I followed, wearing a simple pair of jeans and a t-shirt. A community picnic shouldn't be too formal.

"Morning, Dad!" Lily called as I walked into the kitchen. She and Emma were making pancakes for breakfast.

"Good morning, Lily and Emma." I grabbed a few pancakes and sat down. I loaded them with syrup and started to eat.

"Good morning, girls! Hello, Tony!" Tom said as he entered, grabbed breakfast and took the chair across from mine. "So, you're tagging along with me this morning then?"

"I guess so. I'm not exactly sure what we are supposed to be doing, though."

"Oh, you know. The usual preparation things. We get the tables ready, the barbecues, the fireworks, etcetera, etcetera."

"Fireworks?"

"Oh, yes! Every year we put on a huge firework display."

"Hmmm... That's interesting..."

"What is it that you have in that genius mind of yours?"

"Nothing." I said quickly, as Lily was staring at me. If I was going to do what I wanted to, she couldn't know.

"Okay, then. Finish up your breakfast. The sooner we leave the better."

I looked at his plate. He ate everything already and he took more food than me!

After I finished, I followed him to his truck. It was a beat up old thing, obviously meant for a farm.

"Ah, do you want to take my car?" I asked hesitantly. The truck looked like it wouldn't make it past the driveway.

"Oh, the trucks fine. The girls are taking my car later to bring the food, so we get the truck."

"No. I insist. Look at it!" I pointed to the car under the cover. "It's just begging to be driven." I held out the keys towards him. "You can have the wheel."

I could tell that he was hesitating. Who wouldn't want to drive a sports car instead of that thing?

"Okay." He said finally, grabbing the keys.

He drove very cautiously to the town park. There were already men there when we arrived. All eyes turned to us. Tom parked the car and got out. I followed in his wake as he made his way towards the small crowd.

"Everyone, I would like you meet Tony Stark, Lily Summer's dad."

Everyone stared at me. I swore they didn't blink once.

"Hi!" I waved nervously. Wow. I could stand up to government agents and super villains, but a bunch of small town farmers make me nervous. Go figure. "Nice to meet you all."

Silence.

"Umm... What can I do to help?"

"Can you fix this barbeque?" Someone asked after a few more awkward seconds.

"Maybe. Let me take a look. Wait, I need my tools." I jogged back to my car and popped the trunk. Inside was my tool box, my suitcase suit, emergency supplies and an unlabeled cardboard box. My hand lingered over the suit for a second before reaching for the tool kit. I shut the trunk and jogged back.

"Okay, where is this barbeque of yours?"

At eleven, more people started arriving. The tables quickly filled with food and more and more barbeques arrived, each needing fixing. I didn't think that any had even been maintained at all. Soon, Pepper, Kaitlin and the girls showed up. As expected, all eyes turned to Lily, just as they did to me. I had been sitting in the corner fixing these things for so long that I don't think anyone other than the original men knew that I was already here. That is when the whispering started. Everyone turned to someone else and started to tell whatever rumour came to mind. This had to stop.

I stood up and waved towards Lily and Pepper from behind the crowd. I could tell that Lily relaxed a little, but she still looked more shy and nervous than ever. This was supposed to be her day of reunion, not one of fear and rumours.

I made my way through the crowd towards my family.

"Hey, girls!" I said as I approached.

"Hi!" They answered. Lily walked towards me and stood to my right, with Pepper on my left.

"Okay, let's go put these on the desert table." I led the way, knowing exactly where it was. I had fixed it earlier. Why was everything in this town broken?

"Lily?" I whispered, placing the cupcakes on the table. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine. It's just weird to draw this much attention when I walk into a picnic."

"Oh, you'll get used to it. Just stay strong. If you need anything, Pepper and I will help. We always have your back, okay?"

"Okay."

Pepper smiled.

"Let's do this." She said.

As we looked for a spot on the grass to lay out the huge blanket that Pepper packed, Lily informed us of the traditions.

"Well, it always starts with a speech right at noon done by Mr. Kindman, the principal of the high school and the mayor. During this speech, all the new additions to this town are introduced and invited on stage... You're not considered a new addition, are you? You don't live here... Anyway, then it is the 'in memorial' section." Lily drifted off. I reached over and squeezed my daughter's shoulder in support. She took a deep breath and continued."After that, we eat. The rest of the afternoon is all activities. We bring out a huge at around four-ish. At 6 is the supper. Town council pays for it. It is usually hotdogs and such. After that, it's more activities until it is dark enough for the fireworks display."

"It's going to be a long day." I said, lying on the soft blanket.

"I agree." Pepper replied, joining me.

"Lily, you should find Emma. Go see your classmates. Go have fun! Come back here for the opening ceremony, though."

"Okay, Dad."

I heard her run off towards the crowd.

"Well, this should be fun." I said to Pepper. "It's a day full of activities and catching up and we know no one!"

Just then, someone walked up to us.

"Mr. Stark?" Pepper and I sat up. A bigger, balding man stood in front of us.

"Yes?" I answered, taking off the sunglasses that I was wearing.

"I'm John Kindman, the town mayor and high school principal. I know your daughter quite well. She was always in my office receiving awards."

"Oh, yes! Lily mentioned you. Take a seat! Would you like something to drink?"

"No. I'm fine." He answered, sitting across from me.

"Suit yourself." I replied. I opened my Stark Industries cooler and grabbed a scotch.

"So what brings you here to our little corner of the park?"

"I have Lily's school records for you. She left so suddenly and with no warning, so I did not get a chance to give them to her."

Pepper grabbed the huge folder from him and placed it in front of me.

"Sorry. I don't like to be handed things. I have a peeve."

I grabbed the folder and flipped through it. Except for the stunning report cards, every page was for some sort of award.

"She's quite accomplished, isn't she?" I asked after my quick scan.

"Indeed. Much like yourself. I can see your talent in her, Mr. Stark."

"I can too. I hope she uses it better than me, though."

"What do you mean?"

"I built weapons for years. Those weapons killed so many people and they almost killed me. Actually, one of them is in the process of trying to kill me right now. After Afghanistan, I changed the entire company around, but I still cannot undo what I, well the company under my guidance, had done."

What was getting into me? Why was I telling perfect strangers my feelings? I had got to stop hanging out with Steve. My genius billionaire playboy philanthropist attitude was diminishing by the second.

"Well, I'm sure that she will do wonders in your company's new direction. It's in clean, renewable energy, am I correct?"

"Yep. Arc reactor technology."

"Yes. I read all the information that I could find on that tower that you built in New York. The technology looks very promising."

"Well, we'll see. It should run itself for about a year with that one. It's just a prototype."

"What about that one?" He gestured towards my chest.

"This? It should run the electromagnet in my chest for much longer than I will live. The suit drains a lot of its power, though. If it needs replacing, I will replace it."

A young girl around 6 years old ran up to Mr. Kindman.

"Daddy? Mommy said for me to tell you that you have to start the ceremony."

Mr. Kindman smiled and turned to me.

"Well, that's my cue. You don't mind if I introduce you too, do you? We try to make sure that everyone knows everyone new. It's sort of tradition."

"Not at all." Pepper answered as if people here didn't already know who we were.

"Great! Talk to you later, okay?"

"Sure." I answered before he walked off towards the make-shift stage.

A.N. Well, it may be a while before my next update. I'm missing 2.5 days of school this week and with courses such as Social Studies (this year it's Canadian History, as though we haven't been learning it already since grade one), Pre-Calculus and Chemistry, it is a recipe for piles of homework. See you when I get time to write!


	25. Chapter 25

_Lily's P.O.V._

"Can I have all of your attention please?" Mr Kindman said over the loudspeakers. I politely waved a quick goodbye to Emma and the rest of my 'friends', most of whom I have never even spoken to before in my life. All they did was question me about Malibu and Iron Man. I tried to brush most of the questions off, but there was just too many. I soon just started ignoring them all together. Eventually they gave up and actually had real conversations with me. It was actually kind of nice.

I made my way over to the blanket that Pepper and my dad had set up. Both of them were sitting up and looking towards the makeshift stage, my dad with a scotch in his hand. He looked so out of place with that. Every other male was holding a beer. Different culture, I guess.

My dad smiled as I sat down.

"Your former principal is going to introduce Pepper and I." My dad said. Mr. Kindman had started his speech, but my dad wasn't listening. He had the attention span of a goldfish.

"Oh. Well that sucks." I answered.

"Why? Are you embarrassed by us?" My dad questioned, pretending to be insulted.

"No, of course not. It's just that its drawing even more attention to me."

"You don't have to go up there if you don't want to." My dad said, his voice shifting from joyous to a much more serious tone.

"Yes, I do. It would look really strange if I didn't, especially since this is a community thing and you live quite a long ways away from here."

"If you insist." My dad answered.

Just then, Mr. Kindman began his typical welcoming speech.

"As many of you may have noticed, we have a few new faces here with us today. I would like to welcome all of you to the stage so you can introduce yourselves."

"Come on, then." My dad said, standing up. Pepper and I followed.

There was only two other families that joined us on the small stage, but not one eye was on them. They were all on my dad, who had one arm around Pepper's waist and the other resting on my shoulder. I really wished that they would stop staring at us. We are just another family. A very famous and extremely rich family, mind you, but people from my home town still shouldn't stare like that.

"Okay. I will pass this microphone around I will ask everyone to please introduce yourself. Also, say some things about you, such as where you are from and where you work." Mr. Kindman said. He passed the mic to the first family. We were second.

Suddenly, fear coursed through me. I couldn't talk in front of all these people.

"Dad?" I whispered.

"Yeah, Lily?"

"Can I please not talk."

"Sure. I wasn't expecting you to." I relaxed quite a bit.

The microphone soon got passed towards me. I grabbed it and quickly passed it towards my dad.

"Hello everyone!" He began. "My name is Tony Stark. This is my girlfriend Virginia Potts, who goes by Pepper, and my daughter Lily. Although we don't really live here, we are new to this picnic, so I got asked to do an introduction. Anyways, we all live in Malibu, California, which is quite a long ways away and a lot warmer. Its freezing out here! As for occupations, I am CEO of Stark Industries, as well as a part-time superhero. Pepper here is my Personal Assistant and former CEO. Lily is a engineering student at the University of California in Los Angeles. "

My dad handed the microphone to the family to the left. Everyone in the audience applauded. It was quite a bit louder than the half-hearted clapping for the family before us.

The final family said a few words and we were all ushered off stage. Pepper, my dad and I returned to our blanket with all eyes on us. When I sat down, I realised what was coming up next. It was the memorial section. They always put together a powerpoint presentation similar to the ones at award shows, but much more personal. They are usually filled with stories, picture and videos. I would never be able to make it through.

Right on time, the intro slide flashed on the white screen. The signature music began to play and all eyes turned to me. Everyone wanted to see my reaction to my mother appearing on the screen. That was just plain cruel. Out of fear, I bolted. I literally ran away from the small park. I heard my dad call my name, but I didn`t stop. I needed to get out of there.

I don`t know how long I ran. I didn`t care. It felt so good to get rid of all my emotions through exercise. I kind of missed running. I haven`t done it since, well, since my mom died. Her and I used to do evening runs together when the weather was nice. I missed it so much. Tears started to fill my eyes again and I stopped running to look around at where I ended up. I was on the sidewalk in front of the school, only feet away from where I stood when I saw my mom alive for the last time. That is when I broke down. I fell to the ground and curled up into a fetal position and cried.

I was just starting to pull myself back together when I felt myself being pulled into an embrace. I almost jumped up in shock.

"It's just me, Lily." I heard my dad whisper, right next to my ear."It's okay. It's going to be okay. You will make it through this. I know just how hard this is. I was only a few years older than you when my parents died. I kept all that pain inside me because I was not allowed to show it. I turned into an alcoholic playboy. I don't want to happen to you. I want you to do what you need to do to come to terms with this. I know that it's terrible, but you have to push though and not keep it inside, okay? Crying isn't weak. It is a sign of strength. I learned that way too late."

I relaxed into his arms and started bawling again. Losing a parent is the most painful thing that I have ever done. I still hurt as much as I did the day that she died. It just never goes away. With my dad's arms tight around me though, I began to feel hope. I began to feel that maybe there was a way, not to forget, but to move on. As much as I had told myself that I was coming to terms with my mother's death, it was all a lie. I was just as torn up inside as I was at the start. It was about time that I changed that and started living my life again.

A few minutes later, I wiped my tears off my face and turned to my dad.

"I want to go see her grave." I said, my voice faltering.

My dad just nodded and grabbed my hand, helping me up. He put his hand on my shoulder as we walked across town.

The graveyard was right at the back corner of the town. There was two sides, the old and the new. The old consisted of lines of tall concrete crosses to mark the graves. The new side, however, mostly had flat headstones on the ground with a few shiny, polished upright ones. My dad still didn't say a word as I led him through the new part of the cemetery. I stopped when I reached the newest addition. It was a very small upright headstone. My mom always wanted one. She didn't want the possibility of the earth one day swallowing all the flat headstones. I knelt at the bottom of grave and rested my head on the top of gravestone and cried. I heard my dad walk away, giving me privacy that I desperately needed.

"Mom?" I whispered. "I hope that you can hear this. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for every time that we fought or that I disobeyed you. I wish that I could take it all back. You deserved to treated much better than I treated you. I wish that we could have fixed that. You shouldn't have died so soon. You should have lived to be 100 at least. You were so nice to everyone. Why did you have to die?" I choked back tears. "I'm trying to make my life work without you, but it isn't the same. I'm living with my dad now. I found him. I can't believe that you didn't tell him that I was born. I was really angry with you, but I forgive you. I only want good memories of you, not memories tinted with anger. Dad is really nice I can relate to him so well. He is so much like me. I am going to try to reform my life, Mom, with him in it. I am going to start over again, with new friends, a new school and a new house all in an entirely new state. I need to get over your death and I hope that you will let me do that. I will never forget you, Mom, but I need to let go. I need to start actually living my life again and have fun, not what I am doing now. I am convincing myself that I am having fun, but I still have that hole in my chest. I hope that by forgiving you and coming to talk to you, that hole can be filled again so that I can go back to being me. Thank you so much for listening. I love you."

I forced myself to stand, my body still shaking from crying. I spotted my dad sitting on a bench and I have my way over to him.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Yes." I answered with a much stronger voice. He grabbed my hand and led me out of the graveyard and out towards Emma's house. I didn't turn back once.


	26. Chapter 26

_Lily's P.O.V._

My dad led me back to Emma's house. Good thing, too. I was in no way prepared to return to that picnic.

"What do you want for lunch?" My dad asked as we walked inside. I followed him into the kitchen and sat down at the table.

"I don't care. Anything." I answered.

My dad walked into the pantry and returned with a blue box.

"Mac and cheese?" He asked.

"Sure!" Macaroni and cheese is my favourite food. I ate it so much as a kid. It is my comfort food. I lived off that stuff after my mom died.

"This is the single greatest food on the planet!" My dad exclaimed as he began filling up a pot with water.

"I completely agree. Wait, you like Kraft mac and cheese?"

"I ate it a lot as a kid. Mr. Jarvis, my butler, used to make it for me. When I started at MIT, Rhodey taught me how to make it. It's one of the few things that I can actually cook. Hotdogs also fall under that category."

"That is about the extent of my cooking skills as well. Why don't we ever have it at home?"

"Pepper doesn't like it. She is such a spoil-sport! I only eat it when she isn't home, or when I am working late in the shop or something. I actually have an entire cupboard dedicated to it downstairs."

"Really? Well next time you make it, I will join you."

"Deal!"

A few minutes later, my dad joined me at the table and we dug into our bowls of cheesy deliciousness.

"This is so good!" I said, not caring that I was talking with my mouth full.

"Do you want to know what makes it better?" My dad asked, getting up and walking towards the fridge. "Ketchup."

My dad returned with a huge bottle of Heinz and squeezed it all over the remainder of his pasta.

"That is so gross!" I said, scrunching my nose.

"What? No! This is pure genius whoever thought of this!"

"No. It ruins the perfect ratio between noodles and sauce. If mac and cheese was meant to have ketchup in it, it would be in the box."

"So, does that mean that you don't like wieners in it either?"

"Nope. I like mine unaltered."

"You're missing out, Lily." He said, shaking his head. "This stuff is magic!"

After we cleaned up the kitchen, my dad and I sat in front of the TV, perfectly prepared to spend the remained of the afternoon there. We had hardly even gotten 10 minutes into the science documentary when his cell phone rang. My dad sighed as he looked at the caller ID.

"Sorry, Lily. I have to take this. I'll be back in a minute." He got up and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Look, I know that what I did next was wrong, but it's not my fault. My dad never takes calls unless Pepper forces him too. This must be quite important if he actually took it and left me (and the TV) to do it. That is how I found myself with my head pressed against the door.

"No." I heard my dad say very sternly. I have never heard him talk like that before. "I told you, Fury. My family comes first. I dedicated this day for my daughter because I don't feel that I am spending enough time with her. You can't pull me away from that." There was a pause. "I don't care if there are strange alien creatures attacking New Mexico. This is my day off. There are what, five other people that could be handling this right now. Also, I don't even really work for you. If you recall, I was considered too volatile and self-obsessed. I am merely a consultant and I want to stay that way. I worked with your little boy band long enough and I even unofficially gave them my tower. I have done enough for you. Let me have this one day with my daughter. Bye." My dad rammed his head against the wall and I dove back onto the couch, trying to look as though I had been there all along.

"I'm not stupid, you know." My dad said as he entered. "I know that you were eavesdropping."

There was no point in even trying to deny it.

"I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for? That is natural curiosity. I would have done the same if it were you."

"Was that someone trying to get you to do something for the Avengers?"

"Yep, and they will succeed eventually. Any minute now, someone will be banging down this door looking for me. What can I say? They can't function without me!" Well, I see where they got self-obsessed from now.

"You can go."

"Lily, today was supposed to be your day. I can't just leave you."

"But Dad, you have to. I understand. Those people need you to protect them. It's not fair if I am hogging you when you could be saving people's lives."

"Are you sure that you are okay with it?"

"Yes. I get it. You are a superhero. You have to save the world. Remember, I agreed to this the day that we met."

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"Place your bets. Which one do you think it is?"

"Ummm... Black Widow. She used to work for you, right?"

"Kind of, but you are wrong. It's Cap. Anyone one else wouldn't have the decency to wait outside. They would be in here dragging my sorry butt off this couch by now."

My dad and I walked towards the door. He was right. Captain America was standing on the front deck of my best friend's house in his full suit. It was so surreal. He was just so... muscular. My dad had explained to me the whole mechanics behind the Super Soldier Serum, but wow. It worked much better than I expected.

My dad opened the door.

"What? I help you with one teensy little battle and now I am on the top recruiters list?"

"This is very important, Mr. Stark. The Asgardians were able to repair the bifrost, as you would have known if you would have attended any meetings." My dad rolled his eyes. "These creatures seemed to have been directed towards Earth through there. We do not think that it is Loki's doing, but rather someone else who would like to destroy this planet for the fun of it."

"How did you even get here so fast? I was on the phone with Fury, like two minutes ago!"

"He knew that you wouldn't agree, so he sent me out here to collect you."

"Collect me?" My dad asked. "No, if I am going to New Mexico, which I am not saying that I am, I am flying there myself. Also, I will have to take a pit stop in Malibu to switch suits. The suit case on isn't as strong nor as advanced as the others."

"Stark, I could care less about the technology in your suit. Are you coming with me voluntarily or am I going to have to drag you along?"

"Whatever. I will go. Do you have a car? My suit is at the town park and I have to drop Lily off there."  
Captain America seemed to notice me for the first time.

"Yes, Mr. Stark, I can drive you." The captain turned to me. "You must be Lily. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine." I answered, shaking his outstretched hand.

"Well, then" My dad said. "Are we going or not?"

"Okay, okay..." Captain America said.

We all walked together to Cap's car. I decided that day to start calling him Cap, well at least in my own mind that is. Captain America is far too long.

"You're driving one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s cars?" My dad asked as soon as he saw the vehicle.

"There's no point in me getting my own. There is tons of public transport in New York."

My dad grimaced. I guess that public transport and him don't quite mix.

Cap jumped into the driver's seat and my dad joined me into the back. I gave directions to the park because neither of them had any clue where to go. Dad looked like he could have punched Cap in the face when he said that he didn't know how to work the GPS.

Finally, we got to the park. Cap pulled up right beside dad's car. Everyone else was parked a significant distance away. I didn't blame them. I wouldn't want to be anywhere near my dad if someone scratched his baby.

My dad and I got out of the car. Using his better judgement, Cap stayed inside. Showing up at a community picnic in a full out Captain America costume was sure to bring a lot of attention. Pepper ran up to us almost as soon as we got out.

"Lily!" She said, pulling me into an embrace.

"Hi, Pepper." I said into her shoulder.

She let me go and turned to my dad.

"What are you doing back here? And who drove you? Is that a S.H.I.E.L.D. car?" Pepper looked through the windshield. "Is that Steve? Tony..."

"I can't avoid it, Pepper. They need me."

"Tony, this is Lily's day. You promised me that-"

"I told him that is was alright." I cut in.

"Lily... Are you sure?" Pepper asked.

"Yes. I am 100% sure." I turned to my dad and smiled. "Now go save the world."

My dad grinned and popped the trunk of the Audi, pulling out the red and gold suitcase. This was a model up from the one that he wore in Monaco. He dropped it gently on the grass and proceeded in putting it on. That drew the attention of every single person in the park. They all turned to him and began taking pictures. As he always did, my dad embraced it. He finished suiting up, threw up his signature peace sign and flew off into the sky. Cap waved goodbye to me and followed him on the ground.

"Oh, great." Pepper sighed after they left. Everyone was still staring in our direction. It wasn't everyday that Iron Man flew away from a small town to go save the world.

All the girls that decided that they were my new best friends ran up and surrounded me, cutting me off from Pepper.

"Where did your dad go, Lily?"

"Do you know when he will be back?"

"Will you ever get your own suit?"

Through the crowd, I caught Pepper's eye. She gave me a look that was basically asking if she should intervene. I gave my head a little shake. I would have to learn to deal with people like this and what better way to practice than on your former school mates.

When I finally escaped the group of my dad's fangirls (could it really be true that Emma was one of them only a month ago?), I found Pepper and the Johnsons sitting together on Pepper's blanket.

"Hey!" I said as I approached.

"Hi!" Everyone replied at once. I sat down next to Emma and plucked an M&M off of the cupcake that she was eating.

"Hey! Get your own!" She said, caressing the rest of the dessert.

"None left." I replied. I had taken a hopeful glance at the dessert table on the way by.

"Well, that's your problem then! Quit stealing my food!"

We both broke out in laughter. It felt good to laugh after everything that happened that day. It was an emotional rollercoaster and that was only the beginning.

A.N. Have anyone ever heard the song "If I Had A Million Dollars" By The Barenaked Ladies? If not, go listen to it right now. It is brilliant. That is where I got by Kraft Dinner reference from, or, as they call it in the States, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. Kraft Dinner is considered a Canadian National dish (according to Wikipedia) and we eat 1.7 million of the 7 million boxes sold each week. Also, I would just like to point out my surprise at the fact that Smarties are not sold in the U.S.A.. How can they not be? I live on those things. They are sort of like M&Ms, but much better. So, in honour of the chocolate that does not melt in your hand, I give you the Smarties song.

"When you eat your Smarties, do you eat the red ones last? Do you suck them very slowly, or crunch them very fast? Eat those candy-coated chocolates, but tell me when I ask, when you eat your Smarties, do you eat the red ones last?"


	27. Chapter 27

A.N. Before I begin, I would like to clarify the whole Smarties thing. Yes, there are Smarties in the U.S.A, as well as where I live in Canada. They are completely different. The Smarties in Canada are made by Nestle and are very similar to M&Ms, but bigger, flatter and better tasting (in my opinion). In the U.S.A., they are fruit flavoured wafer candies. We have American Smarties in Canada, but they go by the name of Rockets. I used to get a lot of both types of candies every year at Halloween. They are most likely the two most distributed candies in my town. I hope this clears everything up for everyone!

_Lily's P.O.V._

Pepper and I spent the rest of the afternoon together. As much as I wanted to spend it with the Johnson's as well, they had family there and other people to see. This also was a great opportunity to spend more time with my new mother figure.

"What do you want to do, Lily?" Pepper asked. The Johnson's had just left and we were sitting alone on the blanket in the shade.

"Relax." I replied. I laid down on the mat and put on my new sunglasses that my dad had gotten me after the first press conference. I loved them so much. He really has great taste in those things. I guess that I would too if I wore them as much as he did.

"Fine by me." Pepper said, lying next to me.

We both laid in silence for a few minutes before I started a conversation.

"Do you worry about Dad when he is gone on these missions?"

"Lily, I am always worried about your dad. There is never saying what sort of trouble that he is going to get himself into."

"I worry about him too."

"I know that you do. You shouldn't. His job is to worry about you, not the other way around."

"I know, but still... I saw the pictures from New York. What if it's worse in New Mexico?"

"So that is where he is going? New Mexico?" Pepper shook her head. "Don't worry, Lily. Nothing can be as bad as New York. Your dad almost sacrificed himself for the world. I'm sure that he would never do that now that he has you. Also, the whole Avengers group is a little more organised now."

"Is that since that Stark Tower basically got converted to their headquarters?"

"Tony does tell you everything, doesn't he? Yes, since we gave up a few of our floors. I think that is the only reason that they don't make him go to all their meetings, not that he would anyways. There is still a lot of tension in the group and your dad likes to make things worse. He likes to push other people's buttons just to see how they react."

"He kind of does."

Just then, Emma returned.

"Hey, Pepper! Lily! Do you want to join in on the activities?"

Pepper and I sat up.

"It's up to you, Lily." She said.

"Sure. Why not?" I answered.

Emma led Pepper and I into the middle of the park where a large group of people where congregating. Mr. Kindam stood in the middle attempting to get everyone's attention.

"Can I have all of your attention, please?" He yelled over all the chatter. The sound around him trickled away.

"Thank you. Now then, today we have lots of paired activities for you. There will be everything from three-legged races right down to egg tossing. So, to begin, everyone pick their partner!"

I turned to Pepper.

"Partners?"

"Of course!"

The large group of people divided into groups of two. Emma was paired with Kaitlin. That was different than any other year. It was usually the moms and the daughters separate, but now it was the moms and the daughters together, with Pepper being the mother figure in my case.

"Okay!" Mr. Kindam said, drawing the attention back to him. "We will start with the three legged race. The fabric strips are in this milk crate and you know what to do."

I grabbed a long strip of somebody's old t-shirt and wrapped it around one of Pepper and I's legs. We made our way over to the starting line, wobbling at first, but quickly getting our rhythm.

"On your marks! Get set! Go!"

Pepper and I ran across the starting line. In and out we went until we broke through the ribbon at the other side.

"We won!" I yelled jumping up, forgetting that we were still attached. She didn't jump, so we both lost balance and backwards onto the grass, erupting into a fit of laughter.

"And the winner of the first race is Lily Stark and Pepper Potts!" Mr. Kindam announced.

I don't even remember how many games like that we played. We were tied for the top team when the sun started to set. That meant that there would have to be a tie-breaker. It was always a game of doubles badminton.

It was a hard game. Pepper and I won the first set 21-19. The second game was a lot of back and forth and finally ended at 23-21. In the final game, we were up by one with the serve. It was our chance to take home the trophy. I walked up to the spray painted line and took my serve. It flew easily across the net and was smashed back right over my head. Pepper was right there, however and sent the birdie souring over both our opponents' heads and landing right in the corner, just inside the line.

"Yes!" Pepper yelled, pulling me into a tight hug. "We won, Lily!"

Mr. Kindam came and presented us with our plaque. We were just about to pose for pictures for the local news paper when something moving in the sunset caught my eye.

"Pepper! It's Dad!" Everyone heard me and turned towards the sun. The closer that he got, the more that I could make out that it clearly was my father. There was the signature flat stance, the four repulsors and the shiny red and gold armour. Before I knew it, we landed in a three point pose in the soft grass.

His suit was in rough shape. There was not an inch that was not scratched. There were dints everywhere and some wires were poking out and sparking. I ran up and gave the suit a big hug.

"You're back!" I said, pulling away.

My dad flipped up his face mask, reveling the scratches beneath.

"Of course I'm back! You think that I would leave you?"

"I was just worried that you would be really hurt, that's all."

"I built this thing to protect me. I know its limits. I can never get really injured in it without my own consent, a consent that I would never give. Now, I need Pepper. She knows how to get this thing off me."

We both stood up and walked towards Pepper, who was trying to get people to calm down and leave my dad alone.

"Hey, Pepper. Got a screwdriver handy?" He asked as we reached them.

"I'll go get it." She said, happy to escape the crowd.

"Where did you go, Mr. Stark?" Someone asked.

"Please, it's Tony. I went to New Mexico. I'm not going to say anymore because I am not certain of exactly what I am allowed to say. You will see it on the news anyways." My dad replied.

There were still people bombarding him with questions when Pepper returned. He wasn't really saying anything important and people where beginning to get really irritated with his sass.

"Okay, everyone." Pepper said. "I need space. Lily, will you please stay and help?"

I nodded in reply as everyone backed away.

"What happened, Tony?" Pepper asked as she started unscrewing with the electric screwdriver.

"We'll talk about it later." Dad replied, groaning as the pieces of metal were slowly removed.

"Dad, you look awful." I observed between trips to the car with the pieces.

"Yeah, and it hurts like hell, too."

"Tony..." Pepper warned. She hated when he swore, not that it had ever stopped him.

"I'm just telling the truth!" He countered.

It took almost an hour to get the suit completely off and into the trunk. My dad helped me carry the last of the pieces.

"What's that?" I asked, pointing to a cardboard box.

"Shit!" My dad swore, grabbing the box and running.

"Dad? Wait! Dad!" I called after him, but if he could hear me, he ignored me.

I closed the trunk and walked back towards Pepper.

"Dad took off." I said simply.

"He took off? Where?" She asked with both concern and anger.

"I don't know."

My dad didn't come back for a long time. It was getting quite cold out. Pepper and I put on warm jackets and grabbed blankets and lawn chairs, preparing for the fireworks. We grabbed extras for my dad, but it didn't look like he was coming back.

Finally, the fireworks started. They were basically the same as every year: cheap and boring. It was still nice to see them and hear the unenthusiastic ohhhs and ahhhs. Suddenly, a different type came up. It went up twice as high and lit up the entire sky in red and blue sparks. Everyone got more excited for most people never saw any that good before. I did on the trip that I took to Disney World with my mom. That firework would have fit right in with that display.

That firework was not alone. For another good half hour, huge fireworks lit up the sky. Eventually, the big finally came. There had to be so many fireworks in the sky at once that there was more colour than darkness. When it was all over, the crowd erupted in cheers.

Sometime during the display, someone started a fire in the huge fire pit. Half the group sat around it for heat, while the other half went home to put their kids to bed. Pepper and I moved our chairs, as well as my dad's, in as close to the fire as we could get.

Five minutes later, my dad came back and sat in the chair next to me, putting on his jacket.

"Where were you?" Pepper demanded.

"Didn't you figure it out? It was kind of obvious..."

"Yes, I figured it out; I just wanted to hear you admit it. Where did you get those fireworks? Did you pick them up on the way home? They weren't in your suit..."

"They were in the back of my car. I was supposed to bring them to the expo before it kind of... got destroyed."

It all made sense now. Of course my town could not afford actual fireworks for once. My dad, the billionaire, brought them from his own personal exposition in New York.

"Was that what was in the box?" I asked.

"Yep. I didn't quite make it there in time to get them not to fire there's all together. It would have been better if it was just mine. No one would think anything was different."

"Marshmallow?" The lady to Pepper's left interrupted.

"Sure!" Pepper replied, grabbing the bag. The lady looked at her in shock for a minute.

"Just keep passing it around, please. The stuff for smores should be coming soon."

Pepper, Dad and I all stuck a marshmallow on the roasting sticks that the Johnson's lent us.

"What's a smore?" My dad asked, blowing out the fame that had began on his marshmallow. He seriously could not cook anything.

"You don't know what a smore is?" I asked in shock.

"No."

"It's the most marvelous thing in the world. You take your marshmallow and stick it, along with some chocolate in between two graham crackers."

"I have never tried one."

"Well, you will tonight. I will make you!"

"Okay!"

When the rest of the smore essentials came around, I helped my dad assemble his. Pepper apparently made quite a few as a kid. Actually, I think my dad is the only person that I had ever met who had never tried one.

"This is delicious!" He said after his first bite.

"I know!" I said. I was actually quite surprised that he didn't spit it out in disgust. I could never eat a marshmallow that burnt.

We stayed around the fire until 2 am just talking. With occasionally talked to the people around us and my dad signed a few autographs, but it was mostly just family bonding. I like it quite a bit.

"Well," my dad said, "I think that it's about time that we head back."

"I agree." I yawned.

"Me too." Pepper said.

We packed up everything into the back seat of the Audi because there was no way it was getting into the trunk with that suit in there. Pepper drove against my dad's will because she claimed that he was not sober enough. I agreed. He wasn't drunk or anything, but he did kind of try to drink away a little of the pain from the mission.

When we arrived at the Johnson's house, Pepper and I crept inside. The family went home at midnight and was already all sleeping. My dad stayed out to prepare his car for its night outside. I climbed up the stairs and opened Emma's door and grabbed my bag. I quickly changed and hopped into my sleeping bag on the floor. I fell asleep almost instantly, both emotionally and physically tired from the long day.


	28. Chapter 28

_Lily's P.O.V._

The next month went by so fast. My life quickly fell into a schedule that rarely changed, other than weekends. Those were impossible to predict. Although my schedule was quite constant, my dad and Pepper's were not. They were constantly busy, traveling here and there, staying in the office all night and occasionally saving the world. As much as I hated this, I kind of liked it. Those chaotic days where the only times that I had the entire house to myself. It took me a while to get that privilege, though. They kind of edged me into it, giving me a few hours here and there. It wasn't until the end of May when I got my first full evening alone. My dad and Pepper were going out for supper and then going to some award show that my dad refused to take me too.

I was studying for my finals that Saturday afternoon when I heard a knock at my bedroom door.

"Come in." I said, spinning my chair around to see the entrance.

"Hi!" My dad replied, closing the door behind him and sitting down on my bed. "Lily, I have to talk to you about something."

"Yes..." I said nervously. My dad never came and talked to me in private like this. Was he dying? He couldn't be dying! Was Pepper dying?

"Well... Um... I was going to um... I was wondering if I could... Um..."

"Dad?" I urged.

"Lily, I want to ask Pepper to marry me." The words came out in a huge rush as though he had been keeping them inside for far too long.

I stared back at him in shock. Okay, that was not what I expected him to say.

"Is that okay?" He said quickly, seeing my expression, "I won't do it if you don't want me to. I won't do anything without your permission, so I thought that I should ask you first. It's not like it would make that much of a change in our lives, she already lives here. I just sort of wanted to make it official, you know, becau-"

"Dad!" I interrupted to stop his rambling. "I have no problem with you marrying Pepper. I would be fantastic if you married her! I am so excited for you!" I jumped off my chair and ran toward my bed and pulled my dad into a hug.

"Thanks Lily, that means a lot."

"When are you going to ask her?"

"I was thinking tonight. We are going to go have supper together before the award ceremony. I thought that it would be a great place to show her ring off to the world. Speaking of the ring, do you want to see it?"

"YES!" I almost yelled, bouncy slightly on the bed.

My dad reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small grey box. I took it from his hand and opened it. Sitting inside the light blue velvet was the most beautiful ring that I have ever seen. It was so simple and elegant, very unlike my dad and very much like Pepper. It had a simple thin silver band that widened before reaching the blue stone in the middle. There was something very unique about the stone. It was the exact colour of the arc reactor in my dad's chest. Just before I closed the box, I noticed writing on the inside of the band. I pulled the ring out of the box for a closer look. Written in the cursive writing of jewelry makers were the words 'Proof that Tony Stark has a Heart.'

"Dad! It's beautiful!" I said, giving the box back to him. "What does the inscription mean?"

"Oh, it's just an inside joke kind of thing that I have with Pepper. It's complicated."

"She will love it. It suits her perfectly."

"I really hope that she does. Do you think that she will say yes?"

I looked into my dad's eyes. There was genuine fear in them. He was honestly scared that she would say no.

"Dad, Pepper loves you so much. It is obvious to everyone. She would never say no. If she wanted to leave, she would have done it by now."

"Are you sure? I mean, there is a big difference between dating and marriage. I don't have a great track record with relationships. What if she is scared that I cannot commit to marriage and runs off."

"Dad, have you ever thought about cheating on Pepper?"

"No! Why would you ever think that I would cheat on Pepper?" He sounded very offended.

"Exactly my point. I know that you would never cheat on her or leave her and she knows it too. You have nothing to worry about."

He took a deep breath.

"Thanks, Lily. I needed that support."

"Any time."

"I have to go get ready for the big night. I'll call you as soon as I ask her, okay?"

"Okay."

My dad walked towards the door. Just before leaving, I called after him.

"Dad? Wait!"

He turned around in the doorway.

"What?"

I took a deep breath.

"Can I have a friend come over tonight?"

"A friend?"

"Yes, a friend."

My dad walked back in, closed the door and sat on my bed.

"Who is this friend of yours?"

"His name is Alex Fisher. He is my partner in my robotics class. You know, the one that I am building the Dalek in? Anyways, we aren't quite done it and it's due next week. I thought that this weekend would a great time to finish up. He is living in residence, so there is no room there to work and we have the whole shop with all the tools that we need, so I thought that our house would work great."

"So," My dad cut in, "You are asking me to give you permission to bring home a boy from L.A. to our multi-million dollar mansion for the first time when I am not home."

"It sounds bad when you put it that way... All we want to do is work!"

"I know that's all you have intentions on doing, but Lily, I am the master playboy. I know how one thing can lead to another and-"

"Dad! Stop. Nothing is going to happen! We are just friends!"

"Lily, I'm still not sure. It's not that I don't trust you. I trust you with my life. It's that I don't trust him. I don't want him to take advantage of you. Lily, you have to remember who you are. You are a Stark now and you are next in line to own Stark Industries. That basically paints a huge target on your back. Do you know how much money people would pay for a picture of your suit? Or even you bedroom? Lots of money. I just don't think that tonight is the best night. Why not tomorrow?"

"He's working tomorrow." I said, looking down at my feet. I understood where my dad was coming from, but it didn't mean that I liked his response.

"Okay, Lily." He said, sighing. "I will give you this once." My eyes shot up to meet his. "If anything happens, this will never happen again, do you understand?" I nodded vigorously, my body full of excitement. "Also, this has to pass by Pepper. I know that this is my house and everything, but she still has some say. I'll go talk to her, but there is a 99% chance that she will say yes. You might as well call Alex now. Also, I want him here half an hour before Pepper and I leave so I can meet him. Deal?"

"Deal!" I answered.

At 5:00, I sat by the door window waiting for Alex to show up. Both Dad and Pepper were ready and sitting on the couch, teasing me for my nervousness.

"Lily, you see him every day, there is no need to be nervous." Pepper said.

"Yeah, but he doesn't meet you two every day!"

"Oh, don't worry, I'll be nice." Dad said, smirking.

"Yeah, right! You will probably threaten to blow off his head with your suit or something!"

"No! What do you take me for? As I said earlier, I am a former playboy. That would make me a traitor. But, seriously Lily, be careful."

"I am not going to sleep with him!" I snapped.

Just then, a car pulled into the roundabout.

"He's here!" I yelped.

I watched nervously as he made his way up the steps to the door. He rang the doorbell and I waited a few seconds before opening it.

"Hi!" I said.

"Hello." He replied. He looked absolutely terrified.

"Come in!" I said, making room in the doorway. He walked inside and glanced around.

"Nice place."

"Thanks." My dad said from the living room. Alex jumped almost a foot into the air.

"Ah... Hi! I'm really sorry, sir. I didn't see you there. Uh... I'm Alex Fisher, your daughter's lab partner."

"I know who you are. And don't call me sir. It makes me feel old. It's just Tony. Oh, and this is Pepper." Pepper waved from the chair in the corner. "Come, sit down!"

Alex walked awkwardly into the living room and sat down in the other chair. I sat on the couch next to my dad.

"So, Alex. I hear that you are an engineering student." Pepper said, trying to make him more comfortable.

"Yes, I am. I am in my first year of electrical engineering."

"Great choice. What do you want to do with your degree?" My dad asked.

"I want to work do more of the whole R&D stuff. I want a job that is different everyday and not the same stuff over and over again."

"I know what you mean." My dad said, sighing. "Anyways, what do your parents do?"

"Dad!"

"Tony!" Pepper and I said at the same time.

"What? I was just curious."

"It's okay." Alex said, "My dad is a family doctor and my mom is a professor in experimental physics at the university."

"Impressive. Do you want anything to drink?"

"No, thank you."

"Are you sure? I'm getting water. Pepper? Lily? Anything?"

"I'll have water too, please." Pepper answered.

"Me too!" I said.

"Actually, on second thought, I will have a glass of water, please." Alex said

"Okay! Four glasses of water, coming right up." My dad confirmed before heading out to the kitchen.

Pepper turned to Alex.

"I know that you are scared of Tony. I can tell whenever you look at him. Don't be! He doesn't get offended easily and loves to joke around. Just be yourself and he will stop being so weird. He is trying to make you uncomfortable."

"Um... Okay..." Alex said, still uncertain. He had every right to be scared. My dad built weapons for how many years and he just happened to use all of that technology in a super suit. I would be scared too.

My dad soon came back with a bunch of glasses and passed them around. He sat back down and looked at his watch.

"We will have to go soon, Pepper. I don't want to be late for our reservation."

"Tony Stark is telling me to not to be late. How ironic is that?"

"I can be on time!" My dad said defensively.

"Yeah, maybe for R&D meetings. For everything else, half an hour late is early."

"That is not true! I showed up on time for the board meeting yesterday!"

"That is only because it was at nine and I dragged you there straight out of bed. Also, that doesn't really count because you slept through the entire thing!"

"So?"

"_So?_ How on earth are you going to get any notes down or learn anything if you sleep through the meetings?"

"I have you for that."

"That's not my job, Tony. I just do it because I know that you can't function without me."

"Uh, yes I can. And, if you don't recall, I changed your contract do that you do have to attend all my meetings and take notes."

"Whatever, Tony. It doesn't matter."

I watched as Alex eyes shot back and forth between adults during the whole exchange. It was as though he was watching a game of tennis. I was used to their constant bickering by now. It was just normal day to day stuff for me.

The whole group went into a very awkward silence after that. My dad finished his water and started taping random rhythms onto the side of his glass. He could not sit still for ten seconds.

"Well, Tony." Pepper finally said, "We should go."

"Yep." They both stood up. Pepper walked towards the stairs to the shop while my dad made a bee-line for Alex before I could stop him.

"Listen to me, Alex. If you hurt my daughter in anyway, I not think twice about hurting you. You know, I have a nice suit downstairs that I might even wear for the occasion. It's a real favourite of mine. Also, I know just the place to get back up. Have a great night."

With that, my dad joined Pepper at the stairs. I could hear them bickering about something the entire way down. Yep, they were definitely meant for each other.

I waited until I saw my dad's Audi drive out of the driveway.

"We're clear!" I said to Alex, who was way more relaxed.

"You're dad is scary."

"Only if you make him angry. I have yet to do that, but I know some people who did. Believe me; it's not pretty."

"I believe it. Did he just threaten me with his iron man suit?"

"Quite possibly. I don't know what other suit he has in his workshop. Don't worry; you have nothing to worry about. Hey, do you like Kraft mac and cheese? I know where I can find a whole cupboard full."

A.N. Snow day! It kind of sucked that it was during spirit week and I am missing pyjama day, but oh, well. It gave me an excuse to stay in my pyjamas all day at home! Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. I really love comments, so leave me one! I don't want to have to take out my suit... ;)


	29. Chapter 29

_Pepper's P.O.V._

"Tony, did you just threaten Lily's only friend?" I asked as soon as we started walking down the stairs towards the shop.

"I only care about her safety. I should never have let him come over."

"You allowed it, which means that you have no right to terrify him."

"Oh, he will get over it."

"Tony, you threatened him with your iron man suit. What if S.H.I.E.L.D. found out about that?"

"They can't function without me. Also, I did not threaten him with my iron man suit. I threatened to wear one of my favourite suits while I beat him up. I didn't specify which suit was my favourite."

"Well, it's not too hard to tell." I said, punching in my code on the door. "Which car are we taking?"

"My Audi, obviously. It's about time that I show off that beauty."

"You have been driving it since you got it."

"Yeah, but never to any events. It has only been used for everyday things."

"I can hardly call being flown out to North Dakota normal."

"That's an acceptation."

"Whatever, Tony."

I climbed into the passenger seat of the car with Tony joining me on the driver's side. As soon as he started the car, JARVIS came up on the GPS.

"JARVIS, watch Lily for me. If anything happens, notify me immediately. I mean anything. If that boy gets within 6 inches of her, call me. Also, link the camera feed to my phone. Just in case I need to check in."

"As you wish, sir."

I giggled and shook my head.

"What are you giggling about?"

"How you went from playboy to overprotective parent in less than a year."

"I am not overprotective!"

"You linked video feeds to your phone. Actually, JARVIS, cancel those. Tony has no right to snoop on his daughter."

"You do not have authority to override direct orders from Mr. Stark." JARVIS replied.

"Are you serious?" I asked Tony.

"Yep. Thanks, JARVIS. I programmed you well."

"You're welcome, sir."

I merely rolled my eyes as we drove out onto the open highway to Los Angeles.

It was quarter to seven when we pulled up to my favourite Italian restaurant. Tony insisted that he take me here to celebrate our first night out after Lily came into our lives. As much as I loved Lily and having her around, I really missed the moments that Tony and I would share. It's so different having a child in your lives.

When we walked in, we were immediately led through the restaurant to our favourite table. It was in the back corner and very secluded. There was only a few other tables around, but even they couldn't see us due to the way the tables were set up. It was so nice eating here because of that. At most places we eat, Tony is recognised almost immediately. He is constantly being asked for autographs. He loves the attention, but it even gets on his nerves after a while.

Our waiter passed out the menus and left Tony and I to ourselves.

"So," Tony began, folding up the menu. "Let me guess. You are going to have tortellini."

"Yes. I am. You're going to have pizza." I countered. We always ordered the same things here. I don't even know why. Tony and I both love a large variety of Italian food, but at that restaurant, it was always tortellini and pizza.

"You know me too well." Tony smirked and grabbed my menu and placed it on the corner of the table above his.

The waiter then returned with a bottle of red wine that Tony must have pre-ordered. The waiter then took our orders and returned to the kitchen.

Tony opened the bottle of wine and poured it into our glasses.

"It's been a long time since we had wine." I commented, swishing the drink in my glass.

"Since a week before Lily came. It was actually the last time that we were here."

"That seems like forever ago. Has Lily really only been living with us for less than two months?"

"Yep. I can hardly imagine life without her."

"That's because she has changed our lives so much."

Tony grabbed my hand under the table.

"Thank you, Pepper, for supporting me throughout all of that. Thank you for always being there for me to catch me when I fell. You put up with a lot of my crap over the years and you always came back. You never abandoned me when everyone else had. I always knew that I could rely on you to be there to help and support me. I never ever gave you the thanks that you deserve. Thank you, Pepper for being the rock that I can always rely on. I love you so much more than I could ever express and I know that I would not even be alive if it weren't for you. I would have given up in that cave in Afghanistan. It was the thought of you that gave me hope. Pepper, you saved my life. "

Tony's speech brought me to tears. He browned eyes stared into mine the entire time and I could almost see the warmth and love radiate from them. Every word that he said came from his heart, a heart that I knew existed when everyone else had doubts.

Tony then stood up and knelt beside me, pulling out a small black box. He opened the box and looked up to me, his eyes filled with hope and fear.

"Virginia Pepper Potts, will you marry me?"

I stared at him in shock for a moment. Anthony Edward Stark just asked me to marry him. The most notorious playboy in the world wanted to settle down and be with me. It was unimaginable. Suddenly, flashbacks from all our years together came flooding into my mind. I remembered the first day we met, me shooing tens of girls out of his mansion, the time that he was in Afghanistan, the day he told the world he was Iron Man, the night we kissed on the roof top, the fear in the battle in Manhattan and of course, the day that we heard about Lily. There were so many good and bad things that we did together. This was the moment where I decided the course of my life. I could either continue on this rollercoaster by marring the biggest playboy on the Earth who I happened to love or I run away and restart my life. I tried to imagine my life in both scenarios, but the problem was that I could not imagine one of them. I could literally not imagine living without Tony. How could I live without his eccentric nature, his sassiness or his narcissism? Who else could keep me on my toes never knowing what was going to happen next? I loved everything about this man and I would not have my life any other way.

"Yes."

Tony and I both stood up. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me. Never before had a kiss ever felt that sweet. When we finally pulled apart, he removed the ring from the box and slid it onto my finger. It was beautiful. It was so simple, yet so elegant, with a single light blue stone at the top of a thin silver band.

"I had it custom made. Do you know how hard it was to find a stone the exact colour of my arc reactor? It was worth it, though. Now you will always have something to remind you of me. When you look at that blue stone, I hope that you think of me in that cave and how you were what motivated me to find the courage to fight for my life. You are the reason that I built my reactor and I want you to be reminded of how you saved my life every single day."

I pulled him back into the embrace with tears rolling down both of our cheeks now.

"I love you, Tony."

"I love you too, Pepper. Come on, our food is going to be here soon."

We both sat down at the table, with my left hand in his right under the table. He fooled around with the ring with his thumb almost as a reminder that it was there. We stared at each other with so much love that it was almost unimaginable. I was the happiest that I had ever been in my life.

"You dinner is served." The waiter said as he arrived with our food, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Thank you." Tony and I replied in unison.

We ate in silence at first. There was no need to fill the air with words. Love still circled around us and seemed to bring us into a land that was all our own.

"So," Tony started, breaking the silence that I had gotten lost in."Are you still up to going to the award ceremony tonight?"

"What? Uh... Yeah." I said, taking a moment to come back into the real world. "We can't really turn back now."

"Yes, we can."

"No, we can't. Also, what better way to tell the world that we are engaged." Even though I had said that word a thousand times, it felt so foreign on my lips and so... good.

"What has gotten into you, Pepper? You don't even want a press conference first? You are just going to let the press take in into their own hands?"

"Yes." Tony stared at me in shock. "What? I kind of want to see what they concoct. It has been a while since they last got anything juicy."

"Oh, Potts. I have a bad influence on you."

When Tony and I stepped out onto the red carpet later that evening, I began to see why our plan was not a good idea. Cameras were flashing everywhere. Interviewers were ditching movie starts in order to get a statement from us. Questions were flying in every direction and all Tony did was hold my hand and grin at the camera. I did the same. We were getting a few dirty looks from award nominees for stealing the lime light, but I could care less. It was my engagement day and nothing could ruin it, nothing at all. Suddenly, Tony's phone rang. I think I spoke too soon.

A.N. I know that after the proposal Pepper's brain doesn't make all that much sense. She is just a little shocked and overwhelmed. I would be too if Tony Stark proposed to me. I tried to fix it as much as I could without wrecking the whole 'too many things going through my mind at too fast of a speed' feel. I hope that it isn't too much torture to read. Also, I am so sorry for not updating sooner. I have been away for four days and, on top of that, I am trying to get completely caught up in Doctor Who by Saturday when the new episode airs. Wish me luck because I have to watch an entire season tomorrow. Well, leave a comment! I really appreciate them. I know I don't tell you often, but thank you all for your support. Every single follow, favourite and comment that I get brightens up my day. I love knowing that people are reading my work and actually enjoying it. I don't show people my work all that often, so it means a lot. Thank you all so much. I will try and update soon! Oh, and if I don't update before then, happy Easter!


	30. Chapter 30

_Alex's P.O.V._

I can't believe it. I am eating macaroni and cheese in Tony Stark's workshop. I AM IN TONY STARK'S WORKSHOP! That was a dream come true. I always looked up to Tony as an engineer. It was just by chance that I was paired with his daughter who quickly became my best friend. I almost fainted when she phoned me and asked if I wanted to complete the project at her house. I just assumed that we would be working in her room or something, not in the top of the line work space they call their garage. I couldn't stop staring at everything. There was so much to take in. Lily caught me and giggled.

"I'll give you a tour after. Just eat your food."

"This place is huge!"

"I know! I'm still not used to it yet."

It's so easy to forget that I knew Lily just about as long as she has known her dad. This was just as new to me as it was to her. Maybe that's why she was so easy to talk to. She didn't have the whole 'I'm better than you because I'm rich' thing going on. She's also very modest about her abilities. She rivals her father and doesn't even care. I wish that I was that good.

"So..." I said after a moment of silence, "What do we have left to do."

"Oh, just a few little things. We need to finish up on the turning mechanism because it is still jamming when you turn too much to the right. Also, there is a little bit of programming that needs to be touched up, but JARVIS can do that if it's okay with you."

"JARVIS?"

"Oh. Right. JARVIS is my dad's I.A. that he made while at MIT. It's been greatly improved since then and basically runs the house as well as my dad's suits." Lily seemed to ponder for a moment. "I'm not sure if I was supposed to tell anyone that, so don't spread it around, please. My dad would kill me."

"Your secret is safe with me."

Okay, so Tony Stark has his own A.I. that runs his life. Why not? Also, I'm a little insulted that Lily would ever think that I would tell the press or anybody about her personal life. I'm her friend!

"Good. JARVIS?"

"Yes, Miss Stark?" A British voice replied.

"Can you look at the Dalek's programming? I think that there may be some issues with the right turning."

"As you wish."

"Thanks." Lily turned back to me. "One thing down. We also have to get that box to look like an actual Dalek. Should we hand paint it or get a machine to do it?"

"You have a machine to paint that?"

"Of course. Have you seen my dad's suits? They aren't naturally red and gold you know." Right. I almost forgot that I WAS SITTING IN THE VERY ROOM WHERE THE IRON MAN SUIT WAS BUILT! I have never been this excited in my entire life. This is a dream come true!

Lily grabbed my empty bowl and put in the dishwasher in the kitchenette along with her own.

"Do you want a tour?"

"Yes!" I said with maybe a little too much enthusiasm than necessary.

"Okay!" Lily stood up and walked around. "Well, this, obviously, is the kitchenette. Um.. This is a TV. It usually has some sort of news on. This is the door that we came in, bet you didn't know that. Oh! This is where all the machines are, as well as where JARVIS is kept. JARVIS runs all the machinery along with Dad's robots. They are around here somewhere. If we need to cut anything, we just get JARVIS to do it. My dad's a little too impatient to do it himself. Okay, moving on. These are my dad's cars. They are his babies, so we must not break them. I don't know why they are right near the machinery then, but they are. That's the ramp to drive out of here. Oh, look more cars. Even more cars... And that's my dad's suits and the assembly platform. It's really cool how that works. I will have to get him to show you sometime. That's my dad's desk. We can use it. It will be from there that we can scan the plans and make _manipulatable_ holograms. It comes in handy. This is a very random model of the Stark Expo. I really have no clue as to why it is here and not at Stark Industries, but whatever. Finally, there is a set of doors that lead to another set of stairs and we are back in the kitchen."

I was so awestruck by everything. I was almost drooling all over the shiny black floor. I wished that I had access to that every day.

"So, where's our Dalek?" I finally said after realising that Lily was staring at me.

"In the back of my car. I'll get it." She walked towards her car when I gravitated towards the glass display cabinets in the corner. I walked right up to the newest model. It was so cool to see the suit in real life. The mechanics of that thing were crazy. It could do so much as well as hold an actual person inside.

"Alex? Are you coming or am I doing this all myself?"

I pulled myself away from the piece of art and faced Lily who was unpacking the box onto a table.

The work on our Dalek went really well. In no time at all Lily, JARVIS and I figured out what was wrong with the right turns. It happened to be more of a programming error. The computer was making one of the levers go a little too far and it caused a chain reaction jamming the robot. Once we got that all sorted out, it was time for a makeover. That little silver box was about to become a Dalek.

"How do we work this?" I asked, staring at Tony Stark's computer. That thing was massive. There were four monitors that were all glass all connected to one stunning holograph table that was covered in stacks of paper.

"What? You've never seen a computer before?"

Lily sat down in the spinning chair and waved her hand over the desk. A hologram keyboard came up. She typed in a password and started typing away.

"JARVIS?" She asked.

"Yes, Miss Stark?"

"Can you scan the Dalek for a hologram? Make in interactive too, please."

"As you wish."

A blue beam descended from the ceiling on to our creation, slowly scanning it.

"Ah, Lily?" I asked, "Do we have to move this?" I looked uncertainly at the stack of papers.

She giggled.

"No. I'm not even sure if that thing even works anymore. The floor in here is completely holograph capable."

Before I could even begin to wonder how that could even work, the holograph of our Dalek appeared right before my eyes in the middle of the room.

"Make it bigger, JARVIS." Lily demanded, walking towards it. She turned to me. "You are the Doctor Who expert. What does a Dalek look like?"

"Well, it has sort of hemispheres on the outside." As soon as I said it, they appeared on the image. "A little smaller." I said, realising that I was controlling it. With a little bit of time and careful explanations, our Dalek was beginning to look like the real thing.

"Okay!" Lily exclaimed clapping her hands together. "JARVIS, machine all those piece to the right size. Also, paint them that colour. Now, how do we paint the rest?"

I ran my hand over the robot.

"By hand?"

"That would take forever! JARVIS? Do we have any spray paint the colour of the body lying around?"

"Records state that there is some on the premises."

"Thanks!"

I followed Lily as she looked through drawers and drawers of auto body paint.

"My dad has a room for spray painting. We may as well put it to use."

Ten minutes later, Lily and I were dressed head to toe in white spray paint suits.

"Have you ever done this before?" Lily asked, holding the spray paint gun in her hand.

"Nope. You?"

"No. I've seen it on TV, though. It can't be too hard!"

Well, add spray painting to the list of things that Lily Stark excels at. It went on perfectly and evenly. It was actually very beautiful.

"There!" She said when she finished. "Now we wait for that to dry and we just put on the accessories. How are those coming along, JARVIS?"

"They are just drying, Miss."

"Thank you." She pulled out of suit and threw it in the corner of the room. I did the same.

"Now what?" I asked.

"Want to watch a movie or something?"

"Sure. Your pick since it's your house."

"Isn't it usually the other way around?" She smiled and her whole face lit up. She was beautiful when she did that. No. I can't think like that. She is my friend!

"Nope. You get to pick."

"Whatever. Let's see what Dad has down here."

Lily ran out of the room and back into the main shop with me walking behind her. She ran right by her dad's desk and the pages on the holograph table flew everywhere from the moving air. She stopped right away and looked at the mess.

"Oops..." She said.

She knelt down to pick them up. I joined her, stacking the hundreds of papers into a neat pile.

"OUCH!" Lily yelped. I quickly turned towards her. She was holding up her finger and staring at it in fear.

"Lily? Are you okay?"

Lily just stared ahead.

"Blood..." She whispered before she fell to the floor.

I ran up to her.

"Lily?" I said shaking her gently. "Lily?" I called a little more urgently. There was no response. I felt for a pulse. Luckily there was one.

"JARVIS? Lily fainted! What do I do?"

"I am phoning Mr. Stark." JARVIS replied.

"WHAT? No! He will kill me!"

JARVIS didn't listen. Within seconds, Tony Stark's voice filled the room.

"Hello? Lily? What happened."

"Lily fainted!" I almost yelled. Even though it had only been a few seconds, I was very nervous. On top of that, I was talking to her over protective father.

"What! Is she alright? Does she have a heart beat?" The panic in his voice was almost as high as mine. I could hear Miss Potts in the background asking what was wrong.

"She seems fine, but she is unconscious."

"How long?"

"Umm... 20 seconds now."

"Lay her flat on the ground and lift her feet. You need to get her blood to her brain." I quickly did as I was told. "What's happening? Is there any change? Alex?"

Just then, Lily turned and opened her eyes.

"Dad?" She asked uncertainly, looking around.

"Lily? Are you alright?" Relief flooded into Mr. Stark's voice.

"I think so." She muttered. I slowly dropped her feet onto the floor. "What happened?"

"You fainted." I answered. "You got a paper cut and fainted."

"Wait." Mr. Stark cut in. "You fainted because of a paper cut? You saw me covered in blood after almost every one of my missions!"

"I faint at the sight of my own blood, no matter what the amount. I don't know why. I just do." She pulled herself up and sat on the spinning chair at her dad's desk. She opened one of the drawers and pulled out a first aid kit. "Where are you?"

"On the red carpet at the award ceremony."

"That's nice. So, what's the news?" She asked eagerly. I felt really out of the loop.

"She said yes!" I could almost hear the silly grin that he must have had on his face when he said that.

"DAD! That's awesome! I'm so excited for you!"

"Thanks, Lily. I kind of need to go. I'll talk to later, okay? Call me if you need anything."

"Okay. Thanks Dad. Have fun!"

"Oh, I will!"

The call ended with a beep. Lily stuck on a band-aid and put away the kit.

"Okay, let's finish cleaning up and get to that movie."

"Does that happen often? You just fainting like that?"

"More than I would like it too. I'm an engineer. I am bound to be injured at some point."

"True."

We both knelt down and finished putting back the papers. As soon as we were finished, we went and sat in front of the TV. Lily opened the cabinet bellow and poked through some movies.

"How about good old Harry Potter?"

"Sounds good to me!"

Lily put in the movie and grabbed the bowl of popcorn that one of the robots made. She sat next to me on the couch and turned down the lights. Soon Hedwig's Theme filled the air and we were transported into a magical world.

A.N. I finally got the time (and the motivation) to write! I hope that you liked it. I had different ideas for this chapter when I wrote the last one, but I changed it all. I like the direction that this story is going better. Don't worry, we will get to that other stuff later. Anyway, I hope that everyone enjoyed it and don't forget to comment! I love hearing what you all think. It makes me feel as though I am writing for real people and not just for my own pleasure. I can't wait to hear from you!


	31. Chapter 31

_Tony's P.O.V._

It was very late by the time that Pepper and I got home. When I drove up the driveway, I was only half surprised that Alex's car was still there. I thought that he would be too scared of me to stay the night., but I guess not. I was more surprised though when the lights were dimmed in the garage when I parked my car.

"What's up with the lights?" I asked, turning to my beautiful fiancée.

"I don't know. Maybe they are still down here. JARVIS would have turned them on completely if they were upstairs."

I gave a small huff and got out of the car, carefully making sure that it did not honk when I locked it. As soon as I got out, I could hear music from Harry Potter. I gave a small frown to Pepper and headed over to investigate.

There they were. My daughter and her 'friend'. Alex was sitting almost straight up with his legs on the recliner. Lily, however, was in more of a ball resting her head against Alex. It would have been the sweetest scene ever if my daughter was not part of it. They must have fell asleep during a Harry Potter movie because the opening title screen was playing over and over again. I grabbed the remote off the coffee table and turned off the TV.

"They look so cute!" Pepper whispered behind me. She was holding a small pile of blankets that she must have gotten from who knows where. She covered the teens in the soft throws and stood beside me, snaking her arm around my waist.

"Should I be okay with this?" I asked. "Is this normal for someone Lily's age? I have no clue. I wasn't exactly raised to the upmost standards. You, on the other hand, had a very normal childhood. Is 17 to young to date? Should I be enforcing any sort of rules?"

Pepper gave a slight giggle and them sighed.

"That's really up to you. I'm fine with it. She is very mature for her age, but not in a bad way. She is smart and respects herself. I think that she knows where to draw the line. I think that you should enforce some rules just so that she knows that you are watching and care about her relationship, but not too many of too strict that she feels confined by them. Just make them so that they would fit a relationship that she is comfortable having. That will also discourage her from going too far and it also gives her an excuse to get out of a situation that she doesn't want to be in. I don't know a sane boy that would do anything to her that you disapprove of."

I let that sink in, staring at the couple.

"So, should I just talk to her about it and see where she stands?"

"That's actually not that bad of an idea. Make sure that it is a conversation and not a lecture, though."

"I hate lectures."

"Most people do."

"Will you help her if she needs anyone to talk to about girly stuff. I know nothing about that!"

"Tony, I'm going to be her step-mother, of course I would do that. I would do anything for her."

"I thought you would. Well, I'm ready for bed. Care to join me?"

"Of course."

Pepper rested her head on my shoulder and we headed upstairs to our room.

It wasn't even nine yet when I got up on Saturday and Pepper was already gone. At least she left a note this time. Usually it was a guessing game.

_Tony,_

_I know that this is the first day that we are engaged and it is supposed to be all romantic, but I have to go to work. Apparently every one there is being harassed by the press about us. Don't worry, I scheduled a press conference for Monday. As for today, I will keep my profile low. I have a billion things to get done that I couldn't do at home. Maybe if you actually did some work I might have some free time. Anyway, be nice to your daughter. I imagine that her and Alex will be terrified when they get up so DON'T PESTER THEM! I have JARVIS watching!_

_Have a great day!_

_Pepper_

I turned over and groaned. Pepper left me to deal with Lily alone. Typical. I guess that I am her father and it's my responsibility to ensure her safety, but I don't know how to do this.

"JARVIS? Where's Lily?"

"Miss Stark and Mr. Fisher are still asleep on the sofa in the shop."

"Thanks. Run the coffee maker in the kitchen, would you? I'm going to have a shower, but I'll be down there in ten."

"As you wish."

Right on time, I descended into the kitchen wearing only a nice clean pair of pyjama pants and some slippers. I grabbed my perfectly made coffee and sat down on the couch, flipping through the TV channels, hoping to find something mildly interesting on a Saturday morning. Well, I guess nine thirty is not the best for TV because I found myself watching some entertainment show.

"There was breaking news from an award show in Los Angeles last night." The way-to-perky announcer said, pulling me out of my daydream about getting some sort of television into my suit for long flights. "Pepper Potts, long-time personal assistant of Tony Stark, the CEO of Stark Industries showed up on the red carpet with a stunning engagement ring. The couple started dating after the incident at the Stark Expo two years ago. The last that we had heard from them was the announcement that Tony's daughter, Lily Stark was going to be living with them. There has yet to be a formal announcement on the engagement, and for all we know she may not be even marrying Tony at all. As if that wasn't enough, halfway down there red carpet walk, Tony got a phone call and immediately ran inside with Pepper. Even though he tried to avoided it, our microphones picked up some of his conversation. From what we could tell, it was something concerning Lily. The call did not last long and he was back out for more pictures in a few moments. We hope that the upcoming press conference on Monday will tell us more about Pepper's relationship as well as Lily's wellbeing."

I rolled my eyes at the screen. How stupid could they be. We kind of made it obvious about our relationship. Also, Lily is none of their business!

Just then, I heard footsteps coming up the staircase. I peered through the waterfall and sure enough, it was Lily and Alex. I flicked off the TV and gave them a long stare.

"Good morning." I said.

"Good morning." Lily and Alex replied, their tiredness obvious in their voices.

"So, how was your evening?" I asked.

Alex looked at me very uncomfortably like I was going to yell at him or something. As much as I loved to scare people, he was making me feel bad.

"It was great." Lily said, "We got our robot done and it actually works. We finished attaching the accessories this morning. I thought that there would me problems with the vocal commands, but there isn't any. JARVIS fixed the programming so that it only does simple commands. It's not like Dummy who can basically respond to anything. You have to be very specific with it."

Lily rambled on, trying to make the situation less awkward, but it wasn't helping much. Alex stood next to her at the top of the stairs staring at his feet, careful to avoid meeting my eyes. Finally, I decided to bring the pair out of their misery.

"So." I cut in. A strange mixture of fear and relief flooded Lily's face. "Who's up for pancakes?"

"Okay." Lily replied, a slight smile forming on her lips. Alex also looked up, but his eyes did not quite make it up to my eyes. They instantly glued to my bare chest where my arc reactor was steadily glowing. I gave him a small grin and stood up, heading out towards the kitchen.

"Okay. I can't cook, so this will be interesting." I searched through the cupboards until I found the pancake mix and placed it on the counter. Lily took the milk and the eggs from the fridge and dug for some measuring cups.

"Dad?" Lily asked when she stood back up. "Why don't Alex and I make the pancakes and you cut up some fruit or something to put on top. Do you have strawberries?"

I smirked and let out a little giggle.

"Don't get me started on strawberries. They are the one thing that Pepper is allergic to and we are just going to leave it at that."

"Okay. How about blueberries?"

"I think that we have some."

"Great. Clean them and find some whipped cream."

In no time at all, Alex and Lily had pancakes cooking on the grill and the blueberries and whipped cream were in bowls ready to be eaten. Alex still had not said a word to me and he spook very softly to Lily. He also had yet to make eye contact.

I set the table and brought over all the food. Lily and Alex put everything in the dishwasher and joined me.

"So, Alex." I said between mouthfuls, "You're quiet."

He looked up at me and gave an uncertain smile.

"I guess."

"Come on! Lighten up! It's Sunday morning! The sun is shining! We are in Malibu and life is wonderful!"

"I could not agree more, sir."

"What did I tell you about calling me sir? I hate it! It's Tony. I have to listen to being called 'sir' and 'Mr. Stark' all day at work. I should not have to hear it on weekends too."

"Sorry, Tony." There was a slight hesitation before my name.

"Yesterday, Lily mentioned that you worked today. Where do you work?"

"Oh, just at the McDonalds on campus. My shift doesn't start until 2, so I have lots of time to get back to L.A."

"Do you have a summer job yet?"

"No. Well, kind of. I could stay at McDonalds, but I am still on the lookout for something more... fulfilling."

"How would you like a place at Stark Industries?"

I restrained my laughter as he almost choked on his food. I saw what he could do and I had been planning this since I saw all that he and Lily had done. Right since the first drafts of their robot, I could tell that they work well together. They could learn a lot working together under the guidance of the R&D department.

"Are you serious?" He finally asked. His face was so full of shock. He was obviously not expecting that. Lily wasn't either. Her face was just as priceless. She knew that she had a spot, but summer jobs at Stark were hard to come by and the waiting lists were huge.

"Of course! You and Lily, partners in the R&D department. You will working with our top engineers. While every other student is basically being assistants, you will actually get to do some real engineering. Also, I'm very flexible with hours and all that technical stuff, so don't worry. I also will pay much higher than whatever those fast food chains are. What do you think?"

"YES! I mean, I would be happy to accept the offer."

"Great! Your hired!" I reached across the table and shook his shaking hand. "Are you in, Lily."

"Wouldn't give it up for the world." She responded, just as excited as her companion.

"Perfect! I can't wait to have you two on my team."

"I can't wait to join it!" Alex exclaimed, still very surprised.

"Well, Alex. You may as well quit your MacDonald's job now. It will give you more time to study and I promise that I will more than reimburse you. You are smart and deserve to get the best marks that you can get and jobs can be so demanding."

"I wish, but my mom would never let me. She said that I need a to work to be responsible. That's why I'm living in residence when my house is literally two blocks away from the university. My mom walks to work."

"What's her number?"

"Wait. You're phoning her?"

"Yes. You need all the study time that you can get because you deserve top marks. What is her number."

Alex hesitated.

"I can handle it. It's fine. I can get a great mark. I'm fine."

"Alex, how often do you work?"

"Every night."

"That is unbelievable! You are in university! You are supposed to be having fun!"

"I have to pay for it somehow. My parents didn't pay a cent. My mom said that the discount from her being a professor is enough. She said that students whose parents pay for their schooling don't respect it the same way or do as well because their parents just pay more money if they have to retake a class. It's no loss to them. No offence or anything."

"None taken because I disagree. Give me her number. We need to have a chat."

Alex bit his lower lip and pulled out his phone, showing me the number.

"That's not that great of an idea..." Alex advised.

"What's the worst that can happen?" I glanced at Lily who was quiet during the whole exchange. She looked sort of conflicted. She could see the positives and negatives of both sides and could not pick one.

I dialed the number and put my phone to my ear. It only rang twice before it was picked up.

"Hello?" said an annoyed female voice from the other end.

"Hello. Is this Mrs. Fisher?"

"It's Dr. Fisher and who are you and how did you get this number?"

"Hi, Dr. Fisher. I'm Tony Stark and I am calling about your son."

"Ha ha. Nice try. You're not Tony Stark. Who are you really?"

"Seriously, I'm Tony Stark."

"No, you are not."

"Yes, I am."

"Prove it."

I froze. How on earth do I prove that? Everyone knows everything about me.

"Ask me anything."

"What material is your suit made out of?"

"Gold-titanium alloy so that it does not freeze up at high altitudes. I do not want to experience that again..."

"Who was the CEO of Stark Industries before you."

"Depends how you look at it. It technically was Obadiah Stane, that selfish, greedy-"

"Dad..." Lily cut in from the background.

I sighed. She was right. Now was not the time to vent my anger.

"Before that was my dad, Howard Stark. Another way to look at it is that it was Pepper. Pepper was CEO for a week during the Expo when I had, uh, other things on my mind."

"Okay. One more. Where is my son right now."

"Right now, Alex Fisher is sitting at my dining room table devouring a pile of pancakes with my daughter. He came over last night to finish up that Dalek robot of theirs and I came home to them asleep on the couch in my shop watching Harry Potter."

There was silence on the other end.

"Hello? Dr. Fisher?"

"It's really you. Your really Tony Stark."

"The one and only."

"Okay, well pleased to meet you."

"Same to you. Anyways, there is a very specific reason that I called and I would not like to delay it any longer. First of all, I learned recently that your son is working to pay for university. That is ridiculous. Don't argue it. Your son gave me your reasons. I would like to inform you that I respectfully disagree. I believe that when you are a student you should be entirely focused on your studies and not on working. This will get you better marks that will get you better jobs in the long run. I personally believe that your son should quit his job now in order to study for final exams. I know that I have no right to tell him what to do or to tell you how to raise your child, but this is just my advice. Also, I have offered him a summer job at Stark Industries where he and Lily will work with my top engineers. He will more than make up for the lost pay."

"You offered my son a job? He is just going to be finishing his first year!"

"Yeah and maybe if it goes well and he wants to stay at Stark I might just have a full scholarship waiting for him for the next three."

Alex's eyes widened to the size of the plates on the table.

"You are serious?"

"Yes, I am 100 percent serious. He is brilliant, hard working and creative and I want him at my company. I will do anything to get him. The better the marks, the more respected he will be among his peers in R&D. Please at least consider letting him quit. It's not fair to him."

"If it was any other scenario, I would fight you forever for telling me how to raise my son when you have only just became a father yourself, but I am very appreciative of your generosity. Tell Alex to do whatever he likes."

"Thank you, Dr. Fisher, I will do that."

"Goodbye, Mr. Stark."

"Goodbye."

I hung up the phone.

"Well, Alex, you better phone McDonalds. I think that they will need someone to cover the 2:00 shift."


	32. Chapter 32

A.N. Well, I just watched Iron Man three on Thursday evening and I will say right now that this story will be completely AU from all events that occurred in the movie. I am not rethinking my story to fit that. Also, for the record, I completely freaked out during the last 5 minutes. Without spoiling anything, all I can say was that I will never really get over that last part. Feel free to PM about what you thought of it. Well, let's all get back to my completely spoiler free, Iron Man 3 AU fanfic.

_Lily's P.O.V._

An hour later, Alex, my dad and I went back into the shop. My dad wanted to look over our robot before we submitted to our professor. I was a little nervous. I really had no idea what my dad would think or what he expected of us as a finished project. I glanced up at Alex as my dad typed in his pass code and made a bee-line for the Dalek. He looked much more nervous than I was. I guess that I would be too being that my dad just gave him a job in that field and that he just blew off his backup one. That whole job thing was really strange. It was almost out of character for my dad. He must really like Alex. That whole thing must have been spur of the moment. I can't imagine that he would have even considered giving Alex a job without meeting him first. Maybe he just felt sorry for him.

My dad pulled up a spiny chair and sat down at his desk, examining the Dalek. He almost took the entire thing apart as he checked over every little thing without a word. Alex and I stood in complete silence watching him. It was so stressful. Finally, he put the robot back together and looked up at us.

"It's awesome." He said, grinning. Alex and I let out a sigh of relief. "I love how you did it! It's so simple, yet perfectly effective. From what I can tell, it works perfectly. Want to try it out?"

"Sure!" Alex and I answered.

My dad picked up the Dalek and set it on the floor.

"How high does it hover?"

"About 3 inches, give or take." Alex grabbed the remote and started up the machine.

"Go 3 feet forward." My dad commanded. The robot did not move.

"You have to be more specific. Didn't you see all the compass stuff? We made it follow that. Go 3 feet 30 degrees south of west." I said.

Everybody watched as the Dalek went 3 feet towards

"That's awesome!" My dad said, kneeling down next to it. "You guys have a very good chance of winning this."

"The winner goes on to Nationals in New York. I have always wanted to go there."

"Well, I have a place for you two to stay."

"Do you really think that this is good enough to win?" Alex asked.

'Yes. I have judged many of these competitions and none of the winners were even close to toughing this technology. Most were simply high school robotic class levels."

"I really hope that we win." I said.

"Me too."

Alex went home at 5pm. He and I spent the rest of the day just hanging around. My dad stayed out of our way and worked on his suits. As much as Alex wanted to watch him, I kept him away. My dad doesn't like an audience when he is working. It was just before 11 and I was getting into bed when my dad knocked on my bedroom door.

"Come in." I called, lying down and wrapping my soft sheets around me.

"Hey." He said. He walked in and sat at the foot of my bed. "So, Lily. What's up with you and Alex?"

"I'm not exactly sure." I said, sighing. "I think that we are a little more than friends, but we aren't exactly dating or anything."

"Well, in any case, I just wanted to let you know that I am perfectly okay with you dating him, or anyone really. I would like to meet them first, though. I like Alex. He is smart and hard working, which is why I thought that he would fit in well at work. Just don't let you relationship mingle with work, okay? That never ends well. Also, Lily, be smart. I know that you don't want to hear this and it is probably really awkward for you right now, but please don't interrupt me. Alex is a boy. Even worse, he is a boy in university. He might want to do stuff that you may not be comfortable doing. I'm not just talking about sleeping together, though that is a big part. I'm also talking about alcohol and drugs and all those sort of things. They all sort of go hand in hand. I really don't want you to go down the same road that I did. You are very smart and I trust you to make the right choice. Also, if you ever feel threatened, just give them a friendly reminder that your dad is Iron Man." He grinned.

"Okay, Dad." I replied. It was strange to be discussing this because just a few months ago I would have laughed at the idea of having a boyfriend. That may now be in the works of becoming my reality.

"Any questions? Don't be afraid to ask Pepper and me anything. We would much rather you ask us than sneak behind our backs. Not to say that you ever did, or that you would, but we do have an A.I. that is remarkably good at keeping tabs on people in the household."

"I promise that I won't sneak around."

"Good. Well, goodnight. You have a big day tomorrow. Don't worry about it too much. Your robot is great."

"Thanks. I hope that we win. We put a lot of work into it."

"I know that you did. Well, goodnight again, Lily. You need to sleep. See you in the morning."

JARVIS got me up extra early on Monday morning. I hoped into the shower, got dressed and ran straight down into the shop, giving a quick hello to Pepper as I passed her in the living room. My dad was already down there.

"Morning." He said from underneath the hanging chest piece of his new suit that he was building.

"Good morning!" I walked over to the kitchenette and put in two pieces of toast and made myself a cup of hot chocolate.

My dad crawled out and looked disapprovingly at my mug.

"One day I will get you to drink coffee."

"Coffee is gross and I already have enough energy for today. I can't wait to let other people look at my work. Well, mine and Alex's work."

"You make sure that you give him lots of credit. Everyone will be asking you all the questions and giving you all the credit because you are my daughter. Deflect some onto him. He deserves a lot more credit than he will receive."

"Don't worry. I will. I know what it's like when other people take credit for your work. That is basically my entire life. I hate group projects at school. The teachers knew that I was smart and would get the work done so they paired me with people who they knew where too stupid to it themselves. I ended up doing the entire project and they got the same mark as me."

"Well, that's life. Also, Pepper and I have a press conference this evening about our engagement." I watched a stupid grin came over his face. "It's at 7 at the office, so I really have no clue when we will be home. We might have to camp out there until all the press leaves. We won't be home for supper, so you can either make yourself something or go out and buy something. Happy will be with Pepper and I, but Rhodey will be at his house, so call him if you need anything.

"Sounds good." I glanced at the clock. "I should get going. I want to be there early to set up."

"See you! Good luck! I love you!"

"Love you too!"

I grabbed the Dalek and all of our worksheets, handouts and posters and put them in my trunk before driving out to UCLA.

When I got to our table with all the stuff, Alex was already there. This place was so strange. It was almost a science fair set up. We each had our own little booths. We set everything up and I booted up my computer.

"JARVIS?" I said to it once I connected it to the robot. "Do a final test, please."

"As you wish."

"Shouldn't that thing be illegal to use in this?" Alex asked.

"Why? It's no different than using spell check. We still did all of the thinking, designing and building. All JARVIS is doing is looking for mistakes."

"Okay, whatever, but just don't let the judges see. We don't need an excuse for them to kick us out."

An hour later, the opening ceremonies began. All the guest and participants filled into the chairs in front of the stage. Alex and I got pretty good seats near the front. We were done setting up long before the ceremony. Maybe we didn't have to be there that early. Oh, well. It's better safe than sorry.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the 37th annual Freshman Robotics Competition. It is a great pleasure to have you all here today."

The master of ceremonies went on for what seemed like forever about the history of the competition, how hard that we worked to get here and how much we had learned, as if we needed reminding. Finally, she continued on to the judges. She announced the names of the top engineers in the world. They were going from university to university judging thousands of robots. They looked absolutely terrifying up on the stage looking down on us. The fact that they would be analysing my work seemed a lot less fun now.

"And, finally, our state specific judge for California, Tony Stark."

You have got to be kidding me.

Right on cue, my dad flew in the front doors all dressed up in his Iron Man suit. He landed it in the classic three point landing on the stage and stood up. The front of the suit opened and he walked out. Oh, now he is just showing off. He just got that working last weekend. He looked a lot better than he did this morning, at least. He obviously showered. He was also wearing a light shirt so that the light from his arc reactor could be clearly seen. He held up his signature peace signs before going and shaking all of the professors' hands.

"As I was saying," the MC announced over the chattering of the crowd. "Tony Stark is one of the top engineers in the world. After building weapons for the government for many years, he has now converted to working with clean energy, or, more specially, arc reactor technology. The most resent advancement in the area was with the building of Stark Tower in New York City, which powers itself. This arc reactor also led him to build the Iron Man suit, an engineering master piece. "

Alex poked me.

"Did you know about this?"

"He didn't say a word. Why didn't he tell me?"

I began to feel a slight bit of anger towards my father, a feeling that was rare since I moved in with him. Why didn't he tell me? It could have prepared me for this. Everyone was going to think that we cheated if we win because my dad was one of the judges. This isn't fair!

"Since we have a very strict rule in this competition that judges cannot judge family member's robots, Mr. Stark has brought along the head engineer of Stark Industries, Mike Hopton."

I watched as a man that I had seen that one day that I worked on the arc reactor walk onstage and join my father.

"Now, without further ado, let the competition begin!"

A.N. Sorry about the delay in posting. I went on a band trip, wrote two tests and gotten sick since the last chapter. I really hope to get the next chapter up sooner than I took for this one. Bye!


	33. Chapter 33

_Lily's POV_

Alex and I walked quickly back to our booth. I was speed walking out of pure frustration and anger. Well, I was a little more hurt then frustrated and angry, but I used that to cover up my real feelings. I mean, acting angry seems a lot less deep or personal than acting sad or hurt. Maybe that's just me, but I would rather act angry than hurt. I suppose that is due to my fear of acting weak. Fainting every single time that you bleed has to be the weakest thing ever. I have to act a whole lot stronger than I am to make up for it.

Anyway, I was speed walking and ranting with Alex a few feet behind me, struggling to catch up.

"I can't believe that he did that! Why didn't he tell me? Or you? We went over every little thing about our robot with him, so you would think that he might have brought it up then. He could have just been all 'by the way, I'm going to judge your competition tomorrow", but no. I don't get it. Did he not trust us to keep it a surprise? Like, come on. We have been in his personal workshop complete with his Iron Man suits. I'm sure how that all works is a little bit bigger of a secret than judging a robotics competition!"

"Lily!" Alex interrupted. "Calm down. Maybe he just wasn't allowed to tell us. You know, he did tell us that he judged this thing before, so maybe that was some sort of a hint. All that I know for sure is that he did not do that to hurt you."

"I'm not hurt!"

"Yes, Lily, you are. Why else would you be ranting? Anger is rooted in pain. You feel betrayed. You trusted him and he didn't tell you about this. That makes you feel hurt. "

I began to walk faster. He was right, but I just couldn't listen.

"Lily! Stop and listen to me!"

The hint of sharpness in his voice stopped me in my tracks. I have never heard him use that tone of voice before.

"Lily, he is your father. He did not hurt you intentionally. I understand how you feel, but please let it go, or at least just put it away somewhere. Yes, your father is here. Yes, he did not inform you before hand, but we have a competition to win. I'm not an expert, but I don't think that your father would ever forgive himself if his actions caused his precious daughter to lose a competition."

I blinked.

"You're right." I responded, looking down at my feet. "I'm just being selfish. I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's okay. I understand."

Alex walked up and wrapped his arms around me. I swear that my heart beat doubled. It was such a strange feeling. I liked Alex. Not like as in, oh, that's a nice pencil. I like that pencil. It was like as in, I want to potentially date him in the future. Was this really what a crush felt like?

Alex let go and looked into my eyes and grinned.

"Come on. Let's go win this thing."

One we got back to our booth, Alex and I doubled, tripled, and quadrupled checked everything on our Dalek. I had never been this nervous in my life, and that is saying something. Okay, that may be a slight lie. Meeting my Dad was more nerve-wracking than this, but I believe that should have its own category.

Many students walked by to take a look at our robot. It was really strange. They would walk by on the other side of the pathway and casually glance in our direction before walking off in a fit of whispers. What's worse is that it's not just once. I have seen the same person walk by our booth five times now.

"I swear, if he walks by once more, I'm going to call him out on it." I told Alex as he passed the sixth time. "What's so cool about our robot anyway? Is he some sort of raging whovian?"

"Um, Lily... I hate to break it to you, but I think that he isn't exactly entirely interested in the robot."

I stared at Alex for a second before it hit me like a brick. I was Tony Stark's daughter. Those people weren't interested in the beautiful piece of machinery; they were interested in me in all my jean, sweatshirt and converse glory.

"Well, then. That's embarrassing."

"Oh, come on. How is that embarrassing?"

"People are walking by to stare at me. That is just creepy and borderline stalker-ish."

"Lily, you're famous!"

"Yeah? So?"

"You know, it was only two days ago that it was all over those stupid gossip shows that your dad got engaged and that he got a phone call concerning you on the red carpet."

"Okay, whatever. I get it. That does not mean that I am entirely comfortable with it. I hate drawing attention to myself."

Alex snorted.

"You know, if you didn't want attention, you should not have participated in an engineering contest when your father is one of the top engineers in the world. You should have known that this would happen."

"Well, with judges and adults, sure, but with my classmates and peers? That is a little strange."

Alex gave me quick nudge and nodded in the direction of one of the people walking by. It was that guy again.

"You want me to do it?" He whispered.

I gave him a kind of tiny shrug. As much as I really hated the attention that was being drawn to me, I sort of wanted to see this played out.

"Hey! You there with the white shirt! Come here!" Alex called.

I let out a quickly silenced giggle as he and everyone around quickly looked down at their shirts. He took a few small steps nervously towards our booth.

"Hey! Welcome! I saw you walk by a few times. Are you interested in our robot? Are you a Doctor Who fan too?"

"Umm..." He looked at Alex, then me, then back to Alex. "Well... Actually... Umm... I was just interested in the capabilities of this thing. I was just trying to catch a glimpse at your display board. I thought that coming up to read it would be a little weird."

"Oh, not at all!" I said, popping into the conversation and giving our friend a little jump. "Take a look! If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask. We need all the answering experience that we can get. I'm Lily, by the way, and this is Alex. What's your name?"

"I'm Kyle Fillen. I'm a sophomore."

"Well, nice to meet you, Kyle."

"Same here." Replied Alex.

Kyle didn't say very much more to us. He didn't have the chance. One of the first judges arrived at our booth right after that conversation.

"Hello!" He said, shaking our hands. "I am Professor John Turman from London."

"Hello!" Alex replied. I was too nervous to speak. "I'm Alex Fisher and this is Lily Stark. We built this robot based on the villainous Daleks from the TV show Doctor Who."

"Well," The judge chuckled, "That is a show that I am very familiar with."

In total silence, he eyed up our Dalek, taking notes on his clip board.

"I can see from your display that this is voice controlled. Can one of you please give me an example?"

Alex gave a quick glance at me and, by seeing my state of nervousness, began the demonstration. I was so proud of that little machine as it floated smoothly across the table. It worked so perfectly.

Professor Turman continued to ask us questions for a good ten minutes. Following my dad's advice, I allowed Alex to have most of the attention. Finally, our first judging session was over.

"Thank you so much, Miss Stark and Mr. Fisher. Your machine is outstanding. I hope to see you too later."

"Thank you, Professor Turman."

Four other judges came around before lunch. Alex and I were just starting to pack up our robot into the locked cupboard under out table when I heard a familiar voice.

"Wait! It's our turn!"

My head whipped up and I whacked it on the table that I was sitting under.

"Lily! Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." I stood up, rubbing my head, finally making eye contact with my father.

He had a really excited grin on his face. He was obviously really enjoying himself. I don't blame him. He has been working like crazy lately and he still had that 'just engaged' glow. Wait... Is that normal? Do people really glow that much because of an engagement? Then again, my dad is not normal.

Mike Hopton also had a smile on his face, but it was more professional. As much as he seemed to be having a good time, he knew where to draw the line. I guess that he was also hanging around with his boss all day, although my dad does work with him quite a bit. Maybe he just isn't as outgoing as my dad.

"We are here to take a look at that robot of yours before we go out for lunch." Mr. Hopton said.

"Sure!" Alex replied, pulling is out of the cupboard. "We thought that we only had five judges in the morning."

"Oh, you do." My dad grinned. "We just wanted to get it over with while there were less people around. Also, we were scheduled to see you right after lunch, so all four of us could take an extended break because I know that you have Dr. Friesen after us and he is only coming at two-ish."

"Okay." I said. "Let's do it then."

Mr. Hopton did our judging the exact same as all the other judges, while my dad stood to the side and watched our every move, that proud smile not leaving his lips. As soon as Mr. Hopton got to the bottom of the sheet, my dad pulled it from his hand and stuffed it into his bag.

"Hurry up! I'm hungry!" He half whined.

I giggled and locked up the robot. Taking this opportunity to make a quick glance at Alex, I could tell that he was getting a little more comfortable in my dad's presence. He looked much more relaxed than when he was at my house the other day.

"Come on, you three." My dad said as soon we came out from behind our booth. He stood beside me and placed his hand on my shoulder, giving it a slight, loving squeeze. "Lunch is on me."

We all piled into my dad's Audi. Alex and I sat in the back with Mr. Hopton in the passenger seat and my dad at the wheel. We drove through Los Angeles until we found a nice, small, family owned restaurant. Right away I knew why. Usually, my dad was all up for showing up at the fanciest places in town in shorts, but today he wanted to stay as far away from the press as possible. His press conference was only tonight. I bet that being constantly questioned my university students was enough when you couldn't say anything.

We all went inside and were led to a table in the empty restaurant. The young waitress looked really shocked to see my dad there, but she treated us to different other then the slight look of awe on her face. She was no older than I was. According to her name tag, her name was Claire.

She looked as though she could be very pretty if she tried, not that she wasn't already. She was thin, with curly ginger hair pulled up into a ponytail. Her light green dress shirt brought out her eyes. You do not know how much that I wished that I had those eyes. They were gorgeous. My where just brown there was nothing special about them.

Claire took our order and walked into the kitchen in the back. Alex, my dad and Mr. Hopton all quickly became engaged in a conversation about some sporting event that I couldn't have cared less about. I glanced at Claire as she left the kitchen and sat down at an empty table and picking up a well worn copy of a Harry Potter book. We were the only ones there at the moment, so she had lots of free time while the food was being cooked. I took one last glance at my dad before I got up and joined her.

"Hello." I said, standing next to the table. The conversation at my table stopped abruptly. They had just noticed that I left.

Claire hesitantly lowered her book.

"Hi."

"Mind if I join you? I'm Lily, by the way."

"Oh, not at all. I'm Claire."

"So, Harry Potter. Is this your first time reading it?"

"Oh, no. I have been a fan for basically my whole life."

"Me too! It was just something that seemed to have always been in my life. I dressed up as Hermione and Luna more times than I can count."

Claire and I discussed Harry Potter for a while until the chef called for her to bring out the food that we ordered.

"Well, I guess I should eat." I said, getting up.

"Yeah. I guess that I should work." Claire grinned.

"Just a second." I dug my hand into my purse and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. I scribbled my name and number onto it. "We should do something together sometime. I don't know any girls around here at all and you are really nice. I would love to get to know you better."

"Me too!" She wrote down her number on her notepad and handed it to me. "Text me!"

I walked back to my table and glanced at the sheet.

_Claire Flynn_

_555-2263_

_You are awesome! Call me or text me or anything! Hopefully we can hang out sometime! I just moved here and I don't have very many friends either. _

I sat down next to Alex who gave me a strange look.

"What?" I asked.

"You left us without a word and you got a girl's number. Is there something that you aren't telling us?" Alex teased.

"What? No! She was reading a Harry Potter book!" I could feel my cheeks turning red as my dad and Mr. Hopton laughed at my discomfort.

"I was kidding! Not that there is anything wrong with being a lesbian. That is totally cool. I knew that you just went over to make a friend, though."

I relaxed.

"Well, I was just trying to make a friend. I have literally made no female friends since I moved to Malibu and I sort of miss, you know, female companionship. Pepper is great, but she isn't exactly my age."

My dad laughed.

"I would be very concerned if she was your age and I was getting married to her." He said.

We all burst out laughing. Claire walked up right afterwards with our food. She gave me a huge grin as she set my cheeseburger in front of me. Maybe this could be the start of something great.

A.N. I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry. This took ne forever to do. Actually, it only took me three evenings to do actually write, but I have been so incredibly busy that those free evenings are hard to come by. Only one more week of school until I can be free to write! I hope to see you all much sooner than the break between these chapters.


	34. Chapter 34

_Lily's POV_

The rest of the afternoon went as you would expect. Judges came and went and Alex and I got less and less nervous as time trickled by. By the time the competition was over at three o'clock, we were beginning to just forget about the competitiveness of the situation and began to just have fun.

"Lily, do you see that garbage can over there?" Alex said, nodding towards a booth 20 yards away, "I bet you an ice cream cone that you can't throw this can in it from here."

"You are on!" I grabbed the empty Dr. Pepper can from his hand and aimed. The can flew through the air only to land a little (okay, maybe a lot) to the right, just nearly missing one of our competitors' heads.

"Duck!" Alex yelped. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me under the table. We burst out into a fit of laughter.

"You owe me an ice cream!" Alex said when we finally caught our breaths.

"Okay, tonight let's go out for some ice cream. My dad and Pepper have that press conference at the office tonight, so I have the whole house to myself. We could go there after, if you want." The more that suggestion went on, the more nervous I became. Did I seriously just ask Alex out on a date and then invite him over to my house? Wow, I must have changed a lot from that shy, quiet and geeky girl from North Dakota. It is strange how some of the simplest things can really show you just how far you have come.

"That sounds awesome. Maybe we might actually make it to the end of the Harry Potter movie this time."

"Yeah. I don't even think that we got to the troll part last time, did we?"

"No. I guess we were really tired."

I giggled.

"Yeah. Well, do you want to help me carry all of this to my car?" I asked, nodding towards our robot and the various posters that we had just taken down.

"Sure."

We stood up, grabbed everything and started to walk towards my vehicle.

"How do you think that we did?" I asked as soon as we were safely outside the building.

"I think that we did okay. I mean, our robot did everything that we wanted it to, but some of the other robots were really good too. I think that we got a pretty good score, but I'm not sure if it will be enough to move on to New York or not."

"I really hope that it is. I really want to see how we compare on a national level, and I hear that my dad has a pretty cool tower in New York that is full of super heroes. I'm not sure about you, but I would consider that a pretty awesome place to stay."

"Yeah, that would be pretty amazing. You are so lucky that your dad is a super hero and you can actually meet all these fantastic people."

"Ha, yeah right. The only other super hero that I met was Captain America, and that was by accident. Oh, and Rhodey, but I'm not too sure if he counts. Either way, my dad doesn't go out of his way to introduce me to these people and if anything he discourages it."

"But you have to admit that it is still awesome that your dad and his friends save the world."

"It is, but it is still dangerous. You should see my house when my dad is on a mission. I thought that I got scared for him, but Pepper is an entirely different category. She is so much on edge and I'm not even sure if she sleeps."

"Lily, Pepper will be fine. She just loves your dad and that's all."

"I know, but it still isn't healthy."

By this time, we had reached my car. I stuffed the Dalek into the back seat alongside the posters that Alex carried.

"But seriously, Alex. What if something happens to my dad? How will that affect Pepper? How will it affect me? I have only known him for what, three months, and I can't imagine life without him. I will be alone, Alex, just like I thought I would be when my mom died. I don't want to feel that way again. Also, my dad is all Pepper has. Sure, she has a few friends, but her parents are dead too. On top of that, there is all of Stark Industries that will be passed on to me. I can't do that, Alex." My tear filled eyes widened with realisation. "Oh my gosh. Alex, if my dad dies I will become my dad. I will become completely alone as well as the heir to a major, multi-billion dollar company."

"Hey, Lily. It's okay. That's not going to happen." He wrapped his arms around me. "Your dad is the smartest person that I know. He will not be stupid enough to get killed on a mission. Also, I will always be there for you. You can always rely on me. And what about Pepper? Do you think that she would just abandon you? She loves you, Lily. I can tell. She would never leave you."

I nodded, wiping away my tears.

"I'm sorry. This is awful. I shouldn't be crying over 'what if' scenarios in a parking lot at my university on one of the most important days of my life this far."

"Sometimes you just need to get it out. I understand that. It's fine."

"Yeah, but now it is time to pull myself together before the press gets a hold of this. They will think that it is because of what will be announced at the press conference tonight."

I gave Alex a look that told him to not mention the engagement. The last thing that my family needs right now are even more theories on that ring that Pepper was wearing.

"Yeah, that wouldn't be good. Come on; let's get back to that ceremony."

By the time that we walked in, people were already taking their seats. Alex and I grabbed some right in the middle. A team of two giggling girls came up and sat next to us.

"Hey, are you Lily Stark?"

I turned and faced the slim brunette.

"Uh, yes, I am." I plastered a fake smile onto my face. What on earth did she want?

"I'm Hope. I was wondering if I could get your autograph."

"Uhhh..." I glanced at Alex, exchanging my fake smile for one of horror before turning back with the same fake grin. "Sure, I guess."

She handed me a sharpie and a poster for the competition. I quickly signed my name and handed it back to her.

"We, well Tina and I, are in this competition too. We are from San Diego."

"That's cool. I hear there is a pretty awesome Comic Con there"

"I don't know. I've never been. Comic Cons are really my thing, you know. So, your dad is a judge?"

"Apparently yes."

"Is it weird, you know, like having your dad be an engineer too? My parents are both doctors."

"It's fine. I learn a lot from him." Okay, this Holly girl is really getting on my nerves. Leave me alone. Also, she sounds about as smart as a stick. How on earth did she get into University and in an engineering program to boot?

"He is so hot."

I blinked. Flashbacks to Emma saying those words long before I knew that he was my dad flooded my mind. I would never admit it to anyone else, but there were days that I agreed. With him being my father now, that had not even crossed my mind. It is just so wrong to think of your father as hot. I burst out laughing.

"My dad? Hot?"

"Yes! He is a super hero! And his facial hair is to die for. Also, look at those muscles." She nodded towards the stage. My dad was currently walking out onto it along with the other judges. He walked right up to the microphone.

"Welcome young engineers of California! How are you all doing?"

I huge cheer erupted from the crowd.

"That's great. I'm Tony Stark and I am the state-specific judge representing California as well as the awards announcer. Because I am announcing the awards, I decided to do it my own way. Usually, all the small awards go out first, with the big ones last. I hate that. You can usually tell who will get the big award just by seeing who got the most smaller ones. You know what else I hate? When second and third place are announced before first. That makes it so much worse if you didn't get third or second and you think that you got first and didn't. It makes you feel even worse than if you knew that you didn't get first right off the bat. So, because of that, I am going to open the big envelope first."

My dad held up a golden envelope.

"Here it is. One ticket for a spot at the National Freshman Robotics Competition in New York City. The team who gets this will get to compete against the best engineers of their age group in the country. It is the chance of a lifetime. I competed in it, back in the day, and won. Take my word for it when I say that it was a great experience. "

"The team who is to receive this prize tonight put a lot of hard work into their project. It was evident in every aspect of it from the look of the robot, to the mechanics right down to the posters and their professional attitude. This group did their work well beyond what can be expected from freshman students and really showed me, as well as the other judges, all that they are capable of. With that, I will announce the winning team. It is..."

My dad opened the envelope painstakingly slowly. Alex's hand found mine and he gave a light squeeze.

"Alex Fisher and Lily Stark! Congratulations! Come up here to receive your prize!"

Alex and I got up and walked to the stage. There was a huge grin on Alex's face that I'm sure was reflected in mine. We walked onstage together towards my father. He handed an envelope along with a beautiful glass trophy to Alex and shook his hand in recognition. I walked up next. My dad grinned at me and handed me my trophy. I held out my open hand, but he ignored it, opting for a big hug instead. It was exhilarating to be standing on a stage in a room full of engineers, surrounded by the thunderous clapping and to be given an award by my own father. There was no better feeling in the world than in that moment. As soon as my dad let me go, I gazed across the audience. Almost immediately, I saw her. Standing beside the door was Pepper, with an enormous smile on her face. My dad must have phoned her as soon as he knew who won. When Alex and I got off stage, I ran right for her.

"Congratulations!" She said as she pulled Alex and me into a big hug. "You guys did great! I'm so proud of both of you!"

"Thanks, Pepper!" I replied as soon as she released us.

"So, Alex, where are your parents?" Pepper asked.

"Oh, working." He looked awkwardly down at his feet. "My dad can never get time off to see me do anything and my mom is too dedicated to teaching to even try."

Sadness flooded Pepper's face.

"I'm sorry that they couldn't make it. I'm sure that they would have been so proud to see you up on that stage. You did so well. You too, Lily. I'm sure that your mom would have been so proud to see what you two accomplished."

"Yeah, I'm sure that she would be." As much as I really loved having Pepper to welcome me offstage, I would have done anything for it to be my real mother instead. It is these moments where I miss her the most. It's the moments where we had traditions that are now altered. Although Pepper did almost the exact same thing that my mother always did, it just didn't feel right.

"Well, let's go find seats. I'm sure that you will be going up for many more awards before this thing is over."

Together, we went and sat in the audience like a real family.

A.N.

Okay, I have been busier than I expected I would be. I'm actually surprised that I got this done. This is actually the third version of this chapter. Believe me when I say that they were much more depressing. Oh, well. I think that I know just the place to put all those deleted scenes. Just you wait.


End file.
